Charging payment Study 2024

Charging Payment Study EUROPE

Paying at the charging station: Open-loop and closed-loop systems from the user’s perspective

The options for authorisation and payment have increased significantly since the introduction of AFIR, and have a major influence on the market. The question of payment methods is of great importance to providers: Whoever controls the flow of the money has or controls access to the client.

The Charging Payment Study analyses who prefers which payment method at public charging stations and how EV drivers assess the other payment methods in terms of their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Between July and September 2024, a total of 3,483 EV drivers from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands who charge at public stations were surveyed for the study.

The study shows providers which EV drivers are open to which payment methods and how the respective vendor’s target customer can be successfully addressed.

DOWNLOAD Study Excerpt (Germany)

CONTENTS AND ADDED VALUE OF THE Charging Payment STUDY

Contents of the Charging Payment Study

Segmentation criteria:

  • Vehicle (make, first registration, private vs. company car, employer contribution to charging costs)
  • Vehicle technology (AC/DC charging capacity, range)
  • Driving habits (mileage per year and per weekday)
  • Charging behavior (charging locations, charging frequencies, charging preferences)
  • Living situation (type of house, type of city)
  • ‘Charging types’ derived from charging behaviour, living situation and driving habits (by means of a statistical cluster analysis)
  • Demographics (age, gender, income)

Payment and payment / authorisation methods:

  • Currently used vs. desired payment methods
  • Preferences for ad-hoc payment options (Girocard/CC + PIN, Girocard/CC contactless, smartphone “wallet”, QR code, via cell phone bill)
  • Satisfaction with payment (authorization and payment with P&C, RFID/card, charging app, ad-hoc, prices, price transparency, billing).
  • Comparative evaluation of the 5 main payment methods (Plug&Charge, RFID/card, charging app, Girocard/CC, smartphone wallet):
    • Usage drivers: Advantages + most important advantage per payment method
    • Usage barriers: Disadvantages + most important disadvantage per payment method
Target group of the survey

Only owners and drivers of fully battery-electric e-cars were surveyed for the study. The average holding period of the respondents was 2 years. All respondents regularly charge in public spaces.

Value added and benefit for CPOs and all providers with an eMSP service

The study is mainly aimed at business developers, product managers and marketing experts at charge point operators (CPOs), providers of eMSP services and car manufacturers or importers with their own eMSP offering.

Dashboard for analysis

Many exciting findings only become apparent when the results are evaluated separately according to important customer groups. This allows providers to target their offers to different user segments in a differentiated way. Thanks to the high sample size, subscribers to the study can split the results in the interactive dashboard as they wish and analyse them in detail.

USCALE focus studies: User studies on electromobility

Since 2018, USCALE has been systematically surveying EV drivers about their expectations and experiences at all touchpoints of the e-mobile customer journey. You can find an overview of all USCALE focus studies HERE.

We show extracts from other studies in the LinkedIn articles by USCALE and Axel Sprenger, our company founder.

If you have any questions, please contact us at contact@uscale.digital.