How should your car dealership fund EV charging?

Your dealership should separate stock preparation, demonstrations and service charging from any public charging offer. Fully funded may suit an accessible public bay; part funded or self funded gives a different balance of capital and control. Model paid sessions separately from workshop activity. The UK had 121,171 public chargers on 1 July 2026 [S7]; that national total cannot predict demand at your site. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 17 October 2026

Why install EV chargers at a car dealership?

Start with handover readiness and workshop workflow. An uncharged demonstrator and a customer seeking a public top-up are different jobs. Keep a schedule for stock, demonstrators and service vehicles, then identify any capacity you could sell without delaying them. National public-charger figures describe provision, not your sales or workshop throughput [S7].

For planning, assume service vehicles stay half a day and public users want a short stop; replace both assumptions with booking records. Staff can move stock cars, whereas a public customer may leave the site. Consider a public-facing bay near the entrance and preparation charging behind the secure boundary, with separate permissions.

Which funding model keeps dealership charging under control?

Fully funded means the provider pays, owns and operates, while you provide the public bay and take a revenue share. Check whether its required access conflicts with stock security. Part funded means shared capital and a larger host share; document ownership, priority rights and a buy-out route. Self funded lets you own equipment and retain net income, with paid operation and maintenance if wanted.

A public provider cannot be assumed to prioritise your handovers. Decide which equipment serves the business and which earns from passing drivers. Keep the manufacturer specification, dealer tenancy and public charging agreement aligned without treating a public bay as spare vehicle storage.

Read the fully funded guide and compare part funded terms before deciding who should own the equipment.

How much could a dealership public charger earn?

This is an illustration, not a quote. Every commercial input below is an assumption, not a market price, utilisation forecast or available funding offer. kW means kilowatts, a measure of power; kWh means kilowatt-hours, the energy delivered.

Assume VAT registration and full input VAT recovery. Driver prices include assumed 20% VAT [S11]; income and costs exclude recoverable VAT. HMRC treats public charging as standard-rated [S10]. Check with your accountant. The capital allowance excludes major off-site connection works; replace it with a surveyed, itemised budget.

Annual delivered energy = sessions × 25 kWh × 350 days. At mid use, 4 × 25 × 350 = 35,000 kWh. Sales = delivered energy × £0.60. Imported energy cost = delivered energy × 1.10 × £0.25. Operating surplus = sales − imported energy cost − £2,500. This gives £8,875 at mid use.

The fully funded host receives sales × 10%. The provider pays operating costs from its remaining sales. The part funded host receives surplus × 60%, after those costs; the provider receives the balance. For this illustration, a negative surplus is also shared in that proportion. The self funded host receives the whole surplus and bears any loss. ROI means return on investment: annual host net income ÷ host capital × 100. Simple payback = host capital ÷ annual host net income, only when income is positive. Ranges reflect the capital range, with results rounded.

The low case’s arithmetic payback exceeds a plausible equipment planning horizon and is not a viable investment case. Stock preparation, complimentary handover charging and associated vehicle sales contribute no revenue here. These simple returns exclude borrowing, profit taxes, grants, replacement equipment, extra rent, business rates and lost parking income. Add any such site costs before relying on the result. Fully funded has no host capital payback in this model; the provider still needs its own viable return.

What power and parking does a dealership need?

The assumed public charger requests 50 kW; your survey must also include preparation charging and workshop machinery. Ask for a priority schedule and a load-limited alternative before seeking a larger supply. Do not count vehicles waiting for handover as available public sessions.

Keep vehicle transporters, delivery ramps and service queues clear. Locate the public bay where drivers can reach it without entering a workshop or locked stock compound. Confirm pedestrian access to reception and how recovery vehicles reach a stranded car. A public listing should describe actual gate hours, not showroom phone hours.

Ask your distribution network operator (DNO), which manages the local electricity network, about capacity [S4]. Obtain a connection scope before agreeing an opening date. Ask your designer to demonstrate an accessible route, usable controls and cable handling using DfT inclusive mobility guidance [S8].

Planning permission depends on the development and applicable permitted development rights in England [S6]. Ask the planning authority about your proposal; check the separate regime elsewhere in the UK. Have your solicitor review land rights and landlord consent.

Can the public use dealership chargers after hours?

Decide whether the public bay remains outside the security line after closing. Manufacturer-exclusive dealership charging can be outside public-regulation scope; that exclusion does not cover every dealership charger [S9]. Ask the proposed operator to document which service it is providing before selling sessions.

Public charging prices must be clear in pence per kWh and cannot rise during a session [S5]. Allocate tariff control, driver support, fault response and liability in writing. Ask who pays for insurance, vandalism, removal and reinstatement, and who handles a business-rates assessment. Have your solicitor check exit, assignment and redevelopment terms.

Can your business get a charger grant or tax allowance?

The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) offers up to £500 per socket, covering up to 75% of eligible costs, and ends 31 March 2027 [S1]. Ordinary business customer parking is excluded [S2]. Treat workplace eligibility as a separate staff/fleet question. Do not assume that cars held for sale meet a fleet condition or that a public charging business qualifies.

Qualifying unused charging equipment can receive 100% first-year allowances: expenditure deadlines are 31 March 2027 for Corporation Tax and 5 April 2027 for Income Tax [S3]. Check with your accountant. No relief is deducted in the illustration.

Next steps

Bring a vehicle-preparation schedule and secure-boundary plan to the survey. Compare public and private charging before offering public access alongside workshop use.

Review the retail sector and retail-park charging page. Gather parking observations, opening hours, a land plan and electricity records, then get matched with an installer that covers your area.

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