Greenman Open, a property management company in the food retail sector, has started to equip the car parks of the supermarkets it manages with charging columns. As early as June this year, its subsidiary Greenman Energy equipped the first supermarket car parks with charge points - with complete success.
Because the response from supermarket customers is huge, as the data obtained so far from the operation of the charging points shows. Because Greenmal Open has registered that customers are adapting their shopping behaviour to the charging of their electric vehicles. They actually change their preferred supermarket just because of the electric vehicle charging option.
Most charge during opening hours
The success of the charging offers underlines the strategic importance of grocery retail properties in the switch from fossil fuels to electricity, emphasises Maximilian Bley, Managing Director of Greenman Energy.
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"Our analysis showed that in 97 per cent of cases, charging takes place during supermarket opening hours, as well as more than 40 per cent of users returning regularly," Bley summarises. "These results illustrate that combining regular shopping with electric vehicle charging brings a win-win situation for both retailers and end users."
Start charging automatically
In order to make this even easier for all parties involved, Greenman Energy will in future integrate the so-called Plang-and-Charge technology into its DC charging columns. This enables the charging pole to automatically recognise when an electric vehicle is connected and which vehicle it is. It then automatically starts the charging process without the user having to scan a membership card or use an app. (su/mfo)
