evee Central

New MIT study explains how EV chargers benefit the bottom line of local businesses

Installing one or more electric vehicle charging stations is not only a good way to encourage EV adoption, but also, as new research shows, a smart business move. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found that EV charging stations can act as drivers of local economic growth, and not only in high-income neighborhoods.

The study’s findings also pointed to the potential economic benefits of multi-host EVCS setups.

The study, titled “Effects of electric vehicle charging stations on the economic vitality of local businesses,” which was published in September in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications, looked at economic data from more than 4,000 electric vehicle charging stations and 140,000 business establishments in the state of California.

The researchers found that the installation of one electric vehicle charging station boosted annual spending at a nearby establishment by 1.4% in 2019 and 0.8% for the period from January 2021 through June 2023. The observed effect was “more pronounced” when a point of interest such as a restaurant, hotel or tourist attraction is within 100 meters of a charging station. Spending increased by 2.7% and 3.2%, respectively, for the same periods.

The report also concluded that public EV charging stations “tend to attract higher-income, exploratory visitors” as well as local residents.

The team of scientists, which was led by Zunhang Zheng, a postdoctoral associate at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, found that the presence of charging stations in “disadvantaged and/or low-income areas” as designated by the state of California “notably enhance” businesses in the community.

“These increases in spending are equal to a significant chunk of the cost of installing an EV charger, and I hope this study sheds light on these economic benefits,” Zheng said. “The findings could also diversify the income stream for charger providers and site hosts, and lead to more informed business models for EV charging stations.”