Organising a Charge Point for Your EV

Leased a new EV- How do you organise a charge point?

As many customers are probably aware, even those new or first-time leasing customers, electric cars do need a charging solution. The move from petrol / diesel combustion engines to lithium batteries is not without due diligence or consideration for many of our personal and business customers.

As part of our ethos, we do suggest that customers need to take into consideration the “EV lifestyle” which is brought about with a new EV purchase or lease. In most cases, it is not just about receiving your new car and then proceeding as normal; there are some other constituent elements relating to charging costs vs petrol/diesel costs, seasonal range, charging times, motor insurance and charge points. To bring this to the attention of an e-car lease customer, we use a “living with your …” tool which sets our everything you need to know before committing to the deal.

VW ID.4 Electric Estate 109kW Life Pure 52kWh 5Dr Auto Electric Car Leasing Deals

As part of our regulatory commitment, and our standing as one of the UK’s leading EV brokers, it is of paramount importance that our customers understand the entire agreement and process so that any foreseeable changes or harm can be mitigated. As long as the details are carefully considered by you, there are no concerns about the electric transition (which our Government are aiming to have in place around 2030 / 2035).

One of the big questions we have at the point of sale will often pertain to a charge point at home. Indeed, at the point of quotation we will ask a customer “Help with a charge point solution” as part of an obligation towards delivering an effective service. For personal customers, or for small businesses not looking at workplace solutions, we will refer you to our charge point partners - Rightcharge

Having started in 2019, the Rightcharge team are a resource for assisting customers compare home charge point solutions coupled with energy tariffs and solar solutions. Rather than offer just one charge point option, the website can offer you a selection of suitable charge points based on two simple propositions - 1) Your Postcode; 2) Your EV. After a simple form completion, the website will set out the different options, including their estimated installation prices to you. In the same way our credit brokering services offer you, or the business, a choice from a select number of finance companies, Rightcharge also work in a similar way.

Is there a best brand of charge point for an EV?

As you will see from Rightcharge there are a number of manufacturers available for consideration, for example EO, Ohme, Wallbox, PodPoint and Myenergi. Each has different faculties and aesthetic appearances which will form part of a customer’s decision making process.

The Rightcharge website will set out the key features like smart charging, the warranty period, tethered / untethered options, fuse protection and solar charging integration. With customers now exploring solar technology for their properties, this has added another key consideration to the EV transition, with the ability to procure your own energy to operate your house AND your EV now available. When considering the cost analysis of combustion v electric, the presence of solar panels will influence the cost metrics.

VW ID.4 Electric Estate 109kW Life Pure 52kWh 5Dr Auto Electric Car Leasing Offers

With a charge point, you do need to have off-road parking, so this is only available for those with a drive. For a customer without this infrastructure, they do need to research the availability of AC and DC charging solutions in their locality. This is possible to do on Google Maps or on a dedicated charge point location app like Zap Map.

Again, as part of helping our customers prepare adequately for new EVs, our e-car website will set out the charging capability of your vehicle under “battery & plug type”. This will show you the kW in both AC (slower charging solution) and DC (quicker / fastcharge solutions). Every EV has a fixed maximum charging rate which it can achieve; in the same way each public or destination charging solution will have a different capability.

For example, if your car has a maximum power of 7 kW and you connect this to an 11 kW charging solution, the onboard charger will not be able to improve on the 7 kW it is limited to and therefore the time it takes to go from 0 - 100% would be the same as if it was plugged into a 7kW charging solution.

This is the case for rapid, or DC, charging solutions too. Where a customer does not have a long-term charging solution at home, or work, our e-car lease team would highlight the importance of procuring an EV with a robust charging speed to ensure that they have an efficient experience. Explore our EV comparison tool

And for those customers who are passionate about the electric car, and van, transition and want to be part of the industry, they now have the opportunity to invest into Rightcharge. In their mission to reduce emissions by 6 million tonnes, and support more than their existing customer database of 30,000 electric car drivers, the company is now offering an investment opportunity.

You can see this on Seedrs this crowdfunding journey is enabling you to buy equity in the business and help others to make the transition into EVs more easily and affordably. And the Rightcharge team are continuing to expand their involvement into solar, battery and heat pump installation in addition to electric car chargers, as our industries begin to become more closely aligned.

As at October 2022, some 195,547 pure electric vehicles have been registered in the UK according to SMMT which is 38% more than the 141,296 registered in October 2021 - notwithstanding significant parts, microchip and logistic delays. What this demonstrates is that the level of new EVs is increasing at a rapid rate and a high quantity of customers will need a domestic charging solution in place as soon as possible. You can help make this a possibility in the UK.

For more information on Rightcharge, and their ongoing investment, email [email protected] or utilise the guidance below.