EV Fast charging & pricing: How smarter location decisions drive higher margins for CPOs

The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is picking up speed, but so is the pressure on charge point operators (CPOs) to adapt. One big shift in the market? EV drivers are becoming more price sensitive, an important issue for pricing strategy, profitability, and long-term competitiveness.

At ChargePlanner, we work with leading CPOs across Europe to optimize their pricing strategies and find hotspots for public charging stations using the most up-to-date and complete market data, combined with predictive AI models built for the fast-evolving EV landscape. Here’s what we’re seeing, and how you can stay ahead of the curve.

EV charging is becoming more price sensitive 

While price sensitivity among EV drivers is relatively low today, it's on the rise. Compared to traditional fuel markets, EV charging price sensitivity still has more room to become an important factor. The graph below shows the current state of the charging market for a specific country. 

Example: a 10 cent increase in pricing per kWh will decrease the demand at your station by 6%. This rate is expected to increase within the next 5 years.

Why making the right location decision for fast chargers will be key in your pricing strategy

Not only will the cost for a charging point vary strongly from location to location, so will the local price sensitivity. Which charger types and what power output does the competition offer? How much traffic does the local activity drive? How long do these people stay? These are key questions to ask when picking the right location. We help our customers answer all of these questions, and help them test different charging station set-ups at different price levels.

What is Driving Price Sensitivity?

• A Broader, More Cost-Conscious EV Driver Base

• Rising Public Charging (& Electricity) Costs

• More Substitute Charging Stations

• Increased Price Transparency = Empowered Consumers

Power-Based Pricing: A Strategic Advantage

Don’t worry: Not all drivers want it cheap. Some want to save time and are willing to spend money on it. Our AI model shows that a good amount of EV drivers are willing to pay more for faster, more convenient charging:

However, this premium price only works when it’s aligned with local expectations. In countries like Belgium and Spain, price differences between charger types are much smaller than in Germany or the Netherlands. CPOs that embrace location-specific pricing are systematically outperforming those stuck in flat-rate models. 

Optimal pricing isn’t just about offering faster chargers at a higher price like power-based pricing. What works best is pricing that is tailored to local demand, competition, station capacity and nearby points of interest. In short, location-based pricing is your next crucial strategy.

Learn more about location-based pricing in our free whitepaper, available below.

In our whitepaper, you’ll find:

• A comparison chart of European charging prices per country per charging type
  • Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany, 
    Spain, Poland
• A pricing case study of EVzen. 
  • How did they handle pricing? 
  • How can ChargePlanner be used to reliably turn a higher profit?
  • What was the expected return of the
    pricing strategy?