Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls in Charging Station Investment

Three Steps to Stable Profits

1. Must-read for Newcomers! Avoid These Pitfalls

Location Determines Success or Failure

• Avoid "Ineffective Prime Locations"

• False pitfall: Blindly choosing high-priced land in city centers
• Pitfall Avoidance Strategies:

Premium Scenarios:

• Urban central areas: Commercial districts, hotels, office buildings, public parking lots, etc.
• Large residential areas: Concentrated taxis, ride-hailing vehicles, and private vehicles
• Transportation hubs: Railway stations, bus stations, airports, ports, etc.
• Logistics parks/along main roads: Areas where logistics vehicles gather, and high-frequency operations are needed

Principle of Proximity to High-Voltage Power: reduce high and low voltage investment to curb power distribution construction costs. Prioritize sites with access to new energy electricity prices or time-of-use (peak-valley) pricing.

Check Competitor Density: Use tools (such as charging apps) to survey the number of charging piles and pricing of competitors within 3 kilometers. Be cautious in areas with monthly charging volume <5,000 kWh.

• Beware of "Invisible Minefields"

• False Pitfall: Signing a lease solely for low rent
• Pitfall Avoidance Checklist::

• Nature of land: Select industrial, commercial or construction land. Strictly avoid agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry or fishery land.
• Site hardening: Avoid areas with ground subsidence. Site hardening requires additional reinforcement, increasing construction costs.
• Site drainage: Select well-drained sites to prevent waterlogging from damaging charging piles and vehicles.
• Station management: Preferably with independent zoning, installed gate barriers, and dedicated parking spaces to avoid fuel-powered vehicles occupying spots.
• Site lease term: It is recommended that the land lease be no less than 5 years, ideally 8-10 years.
• Easy access: Two-way access is greater than 6 meters, one-way access is greater than 4 meters, and easy navigation.

2. Calculate the Return on Investment

• Revenue Model

• Flexible Revenue Streams
• Time-of-use (peak-valley) pricing: Profitable only if the price difference during off-peak hours is ≤ 0.5 RMB/kWh.
• Carbon credit monetization: Projects connected to virtual power plants can earn an additional 10% annual revenue
• Energy operation: Participate in V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) and virtual power plant, and gain energy operation profits
• Station supporting facilities: Catering, vending machines, car washing/maintenance, and ecological cooperation advertising revenue sharing
• Cost Red Line
• Warning: Exercise caution in projects where high-voltage connection fees > 40% of total costs
• Case: Shopping malls/hotels stations must be equipped with ground locks/gate barriers to prevent parking spaces from being occupied (one-time investment of CNY 10,000 per parking space, but passenger flow doubles).

3. Three Core Strategies for Operational Risk Avoidance 

Core Mantra: Light assets, heavy operation & maintenance, fast iteration

• Equipment selection:

• Select upgradable equipment to ensure optimal life-cycle costs (iteration costs reduced by 70%).
• For main roads and transportation hubs, select with group management and modular iteration (service life extended to 15 years).
• Stations with high logistics vehicle occupancy must install < high-power group charging piles> (utilization rate increased by 40%)
• For communities and parks, opt for or < AC pile > (reduce initial investment cost)
• Prioritize charging equipment conversion efficiency (power loss reduced by 3-7%).

• User Stickiness:

• For car-hailing drivers: Launch "morning/evening shift exclusive discounts" (lock in fixed customer sources)
• For logistics vehicles drivers: Provide driver rest cabins (with bathing, catering, convenience stores, etc.) and quick maintenance areas (tire inflation/brake detection, etc.) while charging.
• For surrounding residents: Prepaid cards + free parking with charging (repurchase rate increased by 50%).

• Operation and maintenance

• Intelligent O&M: proactively detect and solve problems to improve O&M efficiency (reduce O&M costs)
• Operation platforms: provide refined operation tools, formulate operation strategies, and participate in energy operations (leading brand platforms offer stable traffic)
• Safety protection: Actively analyze vehicle safety hazards from the equipment layer and big data layer (safeguard people, vehicles, and station safety)

• Policy Risk Avoidance

• Prioritize compliance: Strictly align with national standards and local regulations from site selection and approval to equipment selection and operation management
• Stay updated on local policies and promptly apply for [new energy infrastructure subsidies] (alleviate financial pressure)
• Participate in government-enterprise cooperation projects (obtain policy preferences such as land use and taxation)

Ultimate reminder: The contract term must be > 5 years. Demolition of short-term rental sites before investment recovery = heavy loss!