Should You Lease or Buy EV Charging Stations for Your Business?

If you’re looking to electrify your facility and add electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on-site now rather than later, congratulations on being ahead of the curve and a savvy entrepreneur by taking advantage of EV charging rebates before they run out. Although you can save through incentives, there are other ways to avoid having to worry about the financials. You can buy EV charging stations for your business and not deal with upfront costs. But, if you do want to buy and own the stations outright you have that choice as well. In this article, we will go over your financial options for commercial EV charging stations and public charging stations.

Why buy an EV charging station?

Installing electric car charging stations at your facility is a good business opportunity. Putting an electric car charging station on your business or multi-unit dwelling property will increase awareness of your brand, attract and retain customers and employees, and even add money to your coffers. Here is a brief overview of the benefits of buying an EV charging station:

• Attract and retain employees. Employees want to work at a place that aligns with their environmentally conscious values and they need a place to charge. They want ways to avoid range anxiety (EV owners fear that their battery won’t have sufficient charge for a trip and leave them stranded). Providing workplace charging assures employees will not only want to work for you, but also stay loyal to you, especially if your competitors are not providing EV charging.
• Attract customers and build loyalty. The majority of consumers say they prefer to patronize a business that is socially responsible. Providing a public charging station system for customers also increases the likelihood that customers who drive EVs will shop or visit your business for longer. An EV driver also tends to be on the affluent side and is usually able to spend more money. This also applies to multi-family dwellings that want to attract more tenants.
• Put your business on the map. If you open your electric vehicle charging station to the public you will be listed on public EV charging station maps, which makes your facility a destination for electric car drivers.
• Meet sustainability goals. EV charging stations reduce your overall carbon footprint because less of your staff will be using gasoline-powered cars. Additionally, having an EV charger system on-site often helps facilities reach green building certifications.
• Contribute to society. Join in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help build the EV infrastructure needed to support the growth of EV adoption.
• Start an additional source of revenue. If you collect fees from your employees or customers for charging their EVs you can start a second income. 

The total EV charging station cost of your system will depend on which charging level you choose. There are three types of EV charging solutions: Level 1 charging, Level 2 charging, and Level 3 or DC fast charging. The slowest and cheapest type is the Level 1 charger, while the most expensive and fastest is the DC fast charger. A Level 2 charger is at the middle price point and has sufficient charging speed for a commercial EV charging system. DC fast chargers are usually found in EV fleet facilities or along major roadways paired with restaurants and shopping, like a conventional gas station.

Leasing EV charging stations

When you lease an electric charging station you can generally avoid large upfront costs, and make monthly payments instead. Commercial buildings with parking garages or multi-unit dwellings can pass these lease costs as operating costs to tenants, which means no loans or adding unsavory numbers onto their balance sheets. At the same time, EV charging station owners have the opportunity to generate a third income outside of charging fees by charging other businesses to advertise on EV charging station television screens that target the EV driver.

In this option, you do not own the EV charging station, but the EV charging company does. 

Buying EV charging stations

When you buy EV charging stations you own and operate them and manage them as you see fit. WattLogic offers a turnkey installation EV charging option and has made the installation process a breeze. If you decide to go this route, we will take care of the design, installation by a certified and licensed electrician, construction, permitting, rebate and incentive management, and maintenance for you. Whether you are interested in a level 2 charging station or DC fast charging station commercial solution, we will handle it for you.

Keep in mind that when you buy EV charging stations you get to take advantage of all the rebates and incentives offered by local utilities (like Southern California Edison (SCE) in California or Tuscon Electric Power (TEP) in Arizona) and other entities, but if you lease an EV charging station you will not be able to take advantage of available rebates. 

Better than buying and leasing – Charging as a Service

With Charging as a Service, you pay a monthly subscription fee and avoid paying all upfront costs, including installation costs and EV charging equipment infrastructure costs. You receive everything as you would have had you purchased it outright without paying for everything outright.

At the same time, you will also be able to receive all the rebates and incentives available for your project without having to do any of the work! 

If you choose WattLogic as your EV charging company, we will take care of the rebates research and application process for you. Without Charging as a Service model, you will also receive revenue from customers or employees charging, which could cover the cost of your entire subscription fee. This could mean positive cash flow! 

Charging as a service may even allow you to go for a more expensive, but more powerful EV charging solution like a DC fast charging system. 

Or you could share the cost…

In another option known as Shared Revenue, WattLogic will install your EV chargers for you and take on the cost, then collect the revenue your stations receive from charging fees. A variation of this option would be us splitting both the cost and revenue with you. Connect with us to learn which commercial EV charging financial option is ideal for you and what type of EV charging solution is best for your business! Take our quick survey for a free estimate. If you’re interested in a home charging station, we also offer turnkey packages for residential EV charging solutions and can provide you with a free estimate in no time.