A new report shows a 64% increase in demand for workplace electric vehicle (EV) chargers, which is three times the current rate of charger installations, according to ChargePoint, a provider of networked charging solutions for EVs, and the industrial real estate firm CBRE.
Campbell, California-based ChargePoint provides a cloud subscription platform and software-defined charging hardware, with each account providing access to hundreds of thousands of places to charge in North America and Europe. Its platform is designed to include options for charging scenarios ranging from home and multifamily to workplace, parking, hospitality, retail, and transport fleets of all types.
Based on 2023 ChargePoint sessions across thousands of office buildings in the United States, the research showed a 64% gain in charging sessions versus a 22% growth of new charging ports. Similarly, ChargePoint’s network charging data also showed a nearly 30% increase in the average number of unique drivers using workplace charging ports during 2023.
In response to that hot demand, commercial property owners and large occupiers are installing EV charging stations as a crucial amenity to retain employees, CBRE said. However, workplace charging sessions in 2023 grew twice as fast as new installations, indicating an inability to keep pace with rising driver demand.
One reason for that is that EV drivers charge up more often than gasoline drivers fill up, because they tend to top-off rather than deplete their batteries, making charging at workplaces a valuable amenity. A second reason is that more people are driving EVs due to government purchase incentives, environmental consciousness, and an expanding charging infrastructure. And thirdly, people are using public transportation less as hybrid work schedules become increasingly common and employees visit the office in staggered shifts and various days.
From an employer’s perspective, workplace EV charging has become a valuable amenity, with roughly 70% of prime U.S. office buildings equipped with charging ports, CBRE found. CBRE’s Occupier Survey reported that 30% of companies favor offices with EV chargers, a preference that rises to 40% at large companies. While charging alone may not be enough to bring workers back to the office, it could incentivize them to visit more and stay longer to charge their vehicles, the study suggested. Sensing that opportunity, a clear majority of 63% of workplace chargers on the ChargePoint network are free for authorized users, who are typically employees.
