Most EV drivers are more likely to be thinking about croissants or coffee than charging when stopping, according to a recent survey by Ionity.
Public charging firm Ionity asked 1000 drivers across the UK, Germany, France and Sweden what they did during the downtime while charging their EVs, with an average of 57% reporting that they got a meal or a coffee while waiting for their car to charge. The highest figure of 62% was in Germany, while in the UK it was just 51%.
More than double the amount of drivers in the UK and Germany (34%) answer work emails while they’re charging compared to France and Sweden (16% and 14% respectively). French drivers were most likely to visit the toilet or freshen up (49%), while in Sweden they were most likely to go shopping (44%). Germans were most likely to go for a walk, exercise or even take a quick nap.
This is good news for companies such as Gridserve with large EV charging service stations of course. It’s been well known for filling stations for years that their profit margins are slim on the fuel itself and far greater on the ancillary items in the shop such as food.
However, the big difference with an EV is that you don’t need to be with the vehicle as it recharges, meaning that a retailer has a captive audience even if it’s just for them to buy a coffee or snack – as outlined above.
It’s what makes the tie up between Instavolt and McDonalds such a perfect combination. Even if you’re not a fan of the food, for anyone travelling with a family it means any time charging can be spent usefully rather than it being dead time.
Either way however, using your charging time usefully has got to be a good thing – even if it means adding to your daily latte count…