Workplace
7–22 kW AC bays. Employees plug in for 8 hours; cost: ~£800–£1,500/bay installed. Drives EV salary-sacrifice uptake and supports sustainability ESG reporting.
For businesses
Commercial EV charging — installation, verticals & ROI
Whether you operate a workplace car park, a supermarket, hotel chain or fleet depot, installing EV chargers is fast becoming table stakes. Here's how the four main verticals approach it, the hardware tiers to choose from, and a transparent ROI calculator.
Four commercial verticals
Retail & supermarkets
50–150 kW DC chargers tied to dwell time. Tesco/Carrefour/Coles partnerships show 18–24% incremental basket spend when shoppers charge.
Hospitality & destination
11–22 kW AC destination charging at hotels, restaurants, gyms. Becomes a booking filter on Booking.com and a guest retention driver.
Fleet & logistics
Depot 22–150 kW with smart load management. Often combined with on-site solar/battery to flatten demand charges.
ROI calculator
Modelled on UK/EU averages. Edit any input to fit your site.
Gross upfront
8,800
Across 4 bays
Net after grant
7,040
Grant: 1,760
Annual operating margin
14,256
60 kWh/day × 330 days × 0.18 margin
Payback period
0.5 years
Excluding ancillary revenue (footfall, ESG)
Grants & funding (2026)
- ✓UK Workplace Charging Scheme — £350/socket × up to 40 sockets
- ✓France ADVENIR Pro — up to 50% of installation cost (capped €960–€9,000)
- ✓Italy PNRR Bando Colonnine — 40% non-municipal, 80% small/island municipalities
- ✓Australia Driving the Nation Fund + state DPV co-funding (NSW, VIC, QLD)
- ✓EU AFIR — mandatory contactless payment on all >50 kW chargers from 2025
Keep exploring
Related tools
Frequently asked
What's the typical ROI on commercial chargers?
Workplace 7–22 kW chargers typically pay back in 3–5 years through staff retention and EV salary-sacrifice fees. Retail/destination DC chargers (50–150 kW) can pay back in 2–4 years if footfall converts to in-store spend.
Do I need OCPP-compliant hardware?
Yes — OCPP 1.6+ (ideally OCPP 2.0.1) is non-negotiable. It keeps you free to switch back-office providers and qualifies for most public grants.
Can I charge customers to use my chargers?
Yes via dynamic tariffs, RFID, or app payment. UK requires contactless payment on >8 kW public chargers from Nov 2024. EU AFIR mandates the same from 2025.
What grants are available for businesses?
UK Workplace Charging Scheme (£350/socket, up to 40), France ADVENIR Pro (up to 50% of install), Italy PNRR funds, Australia Driving the Nation Fund. State-level top-ups are common.