More and more companies are replacing their company cars with electric ones. To keep the fleet running without downtime, you need to plan where and how the cars will charge. Here are five steps to start with.
1. Work out how much energy your fleet needs
Start with simple data: how many cars you have, how many kilometres they drive each day and how long they stay in the car park. Cars that stay overnight at the depot have very different needs from service vehicles that only return for short stops during the day.
2. Choose the type of station: AC or DC
- AC stations (wallboxes) work well when cars are parked for several hours, for example overnight or during the working day. They are cheaper and easier to install.
- Fast DC stations are needed when a car must get back on the road quickly. They let you top up energy fast before the next shift.
In many companies, a combination of both works best: wallboxes for overnight charging and one fast station for urgent situations. See our AC and DC charging stations.
3. Check your grid capacity
Several cars charging at the same time can exceed the building's contracted capacity. Before you upgrade your grid connection, look at load management: the system shares the available power between stations so the limit is never exceeded. This often lets you connect more cars on the same grid connection.
4. Set the rules for access and billing
Once the stations are ready, questions arise: who can charge, where, and how to bill for the energy used. It is most convenient when:
- each driver has their own RFID card assigned to their name,
- a card can be restricted to selected stations, for example a space assigned to a manager,
- a lost card can be blocked instantly,
- a report shows energy use by driver, card, station and month, with export to Excel.
Here is how it works in our fleet admin dashboard. The fleet manager adds cards on their own and sees live who is charging right now.
5. Think about the formalities
If the station will also be available to customers or guests, it may require acceptance by the Office of Technical Inspection (UDT). We describe this in the article UDT acceptance of a charging station, step by step.
A short checklist
- Number of cars, mileage and parking time.
- Type and number of stations: AC, DC or both.
- Grid capacity and load management.
- RFID cards, station access and reports.
- Formalities, if the station will be public.