EV Charging is Boring ...

… was the response from many manufacturers at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. CES 2023 was heavily focused on automotive with a big presence from EV charging manufacturers, for both domestic (at home) or commercial (fleet charging) applications. 

The demand for charging options is growing along with the adoption of electric cars (EVs). The market for EV chargers is expanding, and more people are wanting to transition to electric. This presents a big opportunity for EV charger manufacturers. We'll examine more closely at the impending rise of electric charging in this blog post, as well as what it means for EV charger producers.

The Charging Experience 

Currently, there are three main types of electric charging options available: level 1, level 2, and level 3.

Level 1 charging, also known as "trickle charging," uses a standard 120-volt household outlet and is typically the slowest option.

Level 2 charging, which uses a 240-volt outlet, is faster and can charge an EV in a matter of hours.

Level 3, or "fast charging," uses a 480-volt outlet and can charge an EV in as little as 30 minutes.

Each option has its own advantages and limitations, and it's important for manufacturers to consider these factors when developing charging solutions. 

Many EV charger manufactures know that charging is boring, as you simply just need to plug in and wait. They know now more than ever that they need to provide an experience while the end user is charging their car.  So, you’ve arrived at the charger, plugged it in, it’s charging - now what?  

If you’re in a new town, the integrated display could tell you what to do, where to go or any famous landmarks to visit. This would present an opportunity to work with local tourism companies, or local governments for better targeted experiences for their tourists. This also works with local businesses who want to promote the latest offers on their products.

A recent study found that stores which provided EV chargers for customers saw those customers spend 20 minutes more in-store than non-EV drivers and up to three times longer for other stores. The study also stated that, on average, drivers spent approximately $1 per minute more at the store with the chargers.

Companion apps can also help play a part. Imagine you are planning your cross-country road trip and your app that you use to plan out your charging stops is also helping you explore other things along the way, making your trip that much more enjoyable and you get to see things you never thought you would. 

Understanding the demographics of the EV owners (being middle-aged white men earning more than $100,000 per year) can help when utilizing digital advertising for targeted campaigns for specific products. 

EV Chargers are Expensive

The market for EV chargers has been dominated by a few major players, such as Tesla and ChargePoint. These companies have established a strong foothold in the market and are well positioned to take advantage of the growing demand for charging solutions. However, there is still room for new players to enter the market and compete with the established players. 

There are currently both opportunities and challenges for EV charger manufacturers. On the one hand, the rising demand for charging solutions offers manufacturers a major chance to boost sales. On the other hand, it may be challenging for new companies to enter the market due to the high cost of research and development as well as the requirement to adhere to rigid rules.

Manufacturers of EV chargers must take into account not only the technical and regulatory obstacles but also ways to lower the overall total cost of ownership (TCO) as they attempt to capitalize on the expanding market for electric charging solutions.

One method is incorporating digital advertising into the charging units themselves. By integrating digital advertising in the displays of the charging units, manufacturers can generate revenue from businesses and brands looking to advertise their products or services. This revenue can then be used to offset the costs of production, installation and maintenance, thus reducing the total cost of ownership for the manufacturers. 

Embedded digital advertising can also help manufacturers to diversify their revenue streams and make their charging solutions more sustainable in the long term. Providing location-based advertisements can also benefit the customers, as it can help them discover new products, services or activities around them. 

Overall, incorporating digital advertising into EV charging units can be a smart strategy for manufacturers looking to reduce the total cost of ownership and increase revenue potential. 

Qt’s Digital Advertising Platform

What’s Qt already doing in this space? 

Operators use different platforms to monitor operations, control grid energy, manage charging points, and bill customers. Similar to controlling other aspects related to EV charging, Qt's Digital Advertising offering enables manufacturers to easily manage their content and view earnings in real-time.

Check out this demo from a recent Qt project:

So how can you take advantage of this new age of digital advertising? Monetize your device with Qt Digital Advertising Platform by turning any mobile application or embedded screen into a revenue generator. Qt Digital Advertising enables you to create a new revenue stream for your product by serving ads to your interactive UI application built on the platform of your choice - mobile, desktop, or embedded software screen. All in a scalable and flexible solution easy to deploy.

Ready to trial Qt Digital Ads? Both open source and commercial users can run the Digital Ads plugin, so download and start making revenue today!

For customers with existing content serving or CMS systems, digital advertisements can also be served via our WebAssembly plugin. This plugin requires no Qt installation and runs in an optimized, light-weight WebAssembly binary which can be added to your existing web application. For supported browsers, or more information about Qt for WebAssembly, see https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/wasm.html#supported-browsers.

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