How to Develop EV Charging Station Finder App: Cost & Features

The slogan of ‘Go Green’ is consistent all around the world because of the carbon emissions and harm being caused to the environment. One of the biggest steps in saving the environment is the prevalence of electric vehicles (EVs). These vehicles have gained popularity over the last few years for several reasons, such as they emit zero carbon and don’t pollute the environment, save energy and fuel, are cost-efficient, etc. With fewer EV charging station number, One need to find and locate EV station, and the EV charging stations app is a great help to solve this problem. Both EV station companies and EV manufacturing companies are investing in EV charging station locator app development to assist EV owners in finding electric car charging stations. Tech companies are also working on EV charging station app development to satisfy the demand. So lets go thr

Electricity is the fuel for electric vehicles. So, for charging these vehicles, there are electric vehicle charging stations, the way there are petrol and diesel stations for the current cars we use. Whenever the electric vehicle discharges or is about to discharge, the car owner must find the nearest charging station to refuel it.

Since the EV charging stations are still in a lesser number and are hard to find, businesses are investing in the EV charging station finder app development. By EV charging station finder app development for locating electric vehicle charging stations, it can be made easier for car owners to find the nearest charging stations, make the payment right through the app, book a charging slot in advance, and more.

These EV charging station apps are among the fastest-growing trends in the app market because the concept is new, and people are looking out for such solutions.

Let’s discuss and understand exactly what an EV charging station app is, how it works, why to invest in an EV charging station app development, key features to integrate, and how much it costs to create such an application.

What is Electric Vehicle Charging App?

This is a mobile app for the owners of electric vehicles to find nearby charging stations for their cars or other vehicles. It is a flexible application that helps in looking out for the charging stations according to the location of the user, booking slots available at the nearby station, waiting time, charging fee, and many more aspects.

For instance, there are five EV charging stations within the range of 5 miles; the car owner can choose to get his vehicle charges from the station that offers the best service in terms of payment, waiting time, and other factors. Moreover, he can pay for the charging right from within the app. If a nearby station remains crowded, the user can also book a charging slot in advance using the app. It will save him from waiting in the long queues at the EV charging station.

How EV Charging Station Locator App Works

Before we go through EV charging station app development guide, Let’s know how the EV charging App works. The working of an EV charging station finder app is quite simple.

• The user or the car owner registers on the app with his email address, phone number, and password or quickly with a social account.
• After registration, the user must enter his location or allow the app to access the geolocation. This will help in showing the nearby charging stations according to the location of the user.
• Users browse nearby locations to see important information about the station, like pricing, photos, description, compatible EV, availability, etc.
• Based on the preferences, the user can book a slot in advance to save time. Or he can visit the station and get the vehicle charged.
• If the user has booked the slot through the app, he can monitor the charging level and progress in the app.
• The user views the amount to be paid and can pay right through the app or to the charging station.

Evolution of the Electric Vehicle Market

Over the last few years, the EV market has witnessed significant development, primarily because of the rapid technological advancements in the automotive industry. These include smart cars, GPS technology for navigation, predictive automobile technology powered by the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, etc.

In addition, governments around the world are looking for eco-friendly solutions. This has made them show more interest in electric vehicles and EV charging station applications. For instance, developed countries like Germany, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden are leading the charge in terms of favoring electric vehicles.

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The leading players in the EV automobile market include Tesla, BYD, BMW Group, Nissan Motors, and Volkswagen AG.

Why Invest in EV Charging Stations App Development?

There are several benefits of EV charging station locator app development , mainly because it is still an untouched point in the market, and the competition is low. Following are some crucial electric vehicle market statistics and growth expectations that you must know:

• The electric vehicle market worldwide is expected to witness a growth of 26.8% year over year from 2021 to 2030. The number of EV units in 2021 is over 4,093k. By 2030, this number will reach 34,756k.
• Another report by Meticulous Research says that the electric vehicle market globally will grow at 33.6% year over year from 2020 to cross $2,495 billion by 2027.
• Talking about the publicly accessible EV charging points, there were over 1.3 million chargers globally in 2020. One-third of these were fast chargers. As electric vehicles become more prevalent and mainstream, the number of charging stations will significantly increase.
• When it comes to India, the EV market in the country was valued at $5 billion. Growing at a massive CAGR of 44% from 2021 to 2026, the value of the market will be over $47 billion by 2026.

These stats prove that the market for electric cars and vehicles is indeed growing at a fast pace. The primary reasons behind this rapid growth are the need for low-emission transportation and the initiatives by governments to support zero-emission vehicles via tax rebates, subsidies, etc.

As the number of electric vehicles increases, the presence of EV charging stations will also grow. Most vehicle owners will look out for EV charging station finder app development that can help them find the right charging stations for them. Numerous EV charging applications are already available, grabbing a big share in this field.

The competition is certainly low, and the app idea is uncommon. By investing in EV charging app development, you can take a big step toward the future and run a profitable business.

Popular Apps for Finding EV Charging Stations

A number of mobile apps are already available in particular markets to offer a convenient charging station for electric vehicle owners. Here are some of the top EV charging station locator apps that can help you to design EV charging station finder app development roadmap:

PlugShare

The PlugShare app has listed over 300K charging points globally. Vehicle owners can browse quickly by applying filters, check info, rate their experience, share photos, etc. Available for both iOS and Android users, PlugShare is more prevalent in Europe and North America.

NextCharge

This app has listings of more than 200K charging stations. Available in several languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, and Romanian, it offers an improved and native user experience. People can get it for both iOS and Android.

ChargePoint

ChargePoint is not only a charging points app but also a vast network of over 114K stations. The app shows only its own charging points. This means that stations from other networks can’t be listed on this app.

EV owners can use filters, book online slots, show cost estimation, etc. It is up for download on both Android and iOS.

Chargemap

Chargemap is one of the leading players in Europe, having more than 166K charging stations. Along with offering EV charging services, it also allows users to interact within the app, build communities, and seek support. It’s available for both iOS and Android.

ChargeHub

Another popular app for finding EV and Tesla charging stations, ChargeHub, is more prevalent in the US and Canada. Formerly called EV Charger Locator, this application has all the essential features, with Play Store and App Store availability.

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What Makes EV Charging Station Location Finder App So Popular?

If you are looking to start an electric vehicle charging station business, then your first move must be to start with an online presence. For this purpose, you can get an EV charging station locator application developed and reach more EV users or drivers efficiently. The app for electric charging stations will bring in more customers, entice them, and generate high revenue for your business.

The app to find charging stations will save electric vehicle owners from standing in long queues at the charging stations. They can easily use your app for electric charging stations to choose a preferred time slot for charging and get their vehicle charged by reaching the charging station on time. There is no need to wait in a queue, which saves them a lot of time.

Along with these, electric vehicle owners will find plenty of more benefits with an EV charging station app. With the EV charging application, you will be able to keep track of several crucial statistics and analytics for your EV charging station business. These stats and analytics include profits earned per day, total consumption of electricity daily/weekly/monthly, information of the vehicle owners, centralized payment details and transactions, etc.

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Moreover, if there are any issues with the charging station or your service, the customers can connect with you through the EV charging stations app and seek support.

Business Model of EV Charging Station App

When you think about a business idea for an electric vehicle charging station app, it is important to know about the monetization opportunities or how to make money with the final product. Let’s discuss and understand the primary ways to monetize an EV charging station mobile app.

Paid/Sponsored Ads

You can allow other relevant businesses to show their promotional content or ads on your app for electric charging stations. It is one of the best ways to monetize your EV charging application. You can display their ads and charge them for the number of impressions, clicks, etc.

Most of the electric vehicle charging apps don’t charge their users for utilizing the EV charging application. In such a business model, showing promotional content can help you generate good income. It can prove to be a smart monetization method because many businesses are looking for marketing and advertising through popular apps.

Membership Fee

You can ask for a reasonable amount from the app user for the services and benefits you are providing. An EV charging station locator app certainly brings numerous advantages to the users. So, you can bring a subscription model to your mobile app to find electric car charging stations.

With this, you can charge some fees from users on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis. So, whenever new users become a member, you earn some profits. Moreover, the renewal amount from existing users will also add to your revenue.

Features for EV charging station finder app development

Let’s go through key features you need to consider for EV charging station locator app development.

• User Sign-Up: After downloading and installing the app, the user needs to register into the app with his phone number, email address, and password. To make this process more efficient and quicker, you can allow them to register with their Google Account or other social media handles.
• Profile creation: The user can edit his profile and make changes to it. For instance, he can add his name, vehicle model and number, profile photo, etc.
• Geolocation: In order to show the nearby charging stations, the app needs to access the location of the user’s smartphone. Additionally, if a user wants to search the chargers available in an area manually, he should be able to enter the preferred location and see the right options.
• Nearby charging stations: Based on the location accessed by the app or entered by the user, the mobile app will show the charging stations closest to the user. The aim of showing the closest stations is to help users save the time and power required to visit a station for charging.
• Station details: While browsing the nearby EV charging stations, the app should show the relevant information about the specific stations. This information can include the name of the station, the car models compatible with the station, pricing, address, photos, reviews ratings, etc. It will help users to get the charging done from their preferred station.
• Slot booking: After deciding on the charging station through the app, the user can book a time slot in advance to get his car charged. This is a handy feature meant to save a lot of time for the user, especially when the stations remain crowded. The advance booking through the app will prevent him from waiting in the long queues.
• Rating & review: After getting their EV charged, the car owner can rate their experience and write a review about the station. The ratings and reviews help other users to know the quality of service and other aspects of a station. If you share a negative review, the station can work on improving the required things.
• Multiple payment options: You must integrate multiple payment methods in your EV charging station locator app so that users can make payments with their preferred method. For instance, you can allow them to pay with a debit/credit card, PayPal, UPI, e-wallet mobile apps, etc.
• Billing history: It is important for car owners to know the power they consume and the cost they spend on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. For this, the app should have a feature to track the bookings with power charged and the amount of payment made by the user.
• Notifications: The app should send alerts or notifications to the users about nearby charging stations, new offers available, reminders about advance booking, as well as when a new charging station is added to the app for the user’s preferred location.
• EV trip planner: If a user is planning a road trip for a long distance, he will need to get his vehicle charged at multiple points. So, to make things convenient for the user, you can integrate a trip planner feature that allows users to enter the starting and destination points of their trip. The app will then show all the charging stations available on the entered route.
• Filters: While searching or browsing the charging stations, users can apply filters to find the right station. This is an advanced feature that users like because it saves a lot of time. For instance, if there are several stations available in an area but not all of them are compatible with the vehicle of the user, then the user can apply the required filters and see only the suitable stations. The filters can be applied for charging point compatibility, power level, network, fast or slow charger at the station, etc.
• AI-based Chatbot: Smart chatbots make the lives of your users easier by providing them support and answering their queries whenever required. On the basis of common questions of the people, the chatbot can answer effectively. The queries that the chatbot can’t answer can be transferred to a human support executive.
• Reward points: For using your app more frequently, you can give some reward points to the users in the form of discount vouchers, promotional coupons for their next charge, free membership for a month, or any other benefits. The reward points help you build loyalty among customers and attract more users to the app.

Given above are the basic features you can think of during EV charging station locator app development process.

Essential Tech Stack For Electric Vehicle Charging Station App Development

The electric car charging apps usually need a robust tech stack and modern technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services, and more. Here is a brief overview of the required tech stack for EV charging station locator app development –

Feature/Function	Tech Stack
Verify Mobile No.	Twilio, Nexmo
Notifications	Push.io and Twilio
Payment methods	Stripe, UPI, PayPal, etc
Cloud services	Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud
Database	MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
Analytics	Kafka, Spark, Flink, Hadoop
Framework	jQuery, Flutter, Laravel
Server	Apache, Tomcat, NGINX

For more discussion over EV charging station locator app development techstack, feel free to connect us.

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How to Develop EV Charging Station Finder App?

For electric vehicle charging mobile app development, you can follow the step-by-step process mentioned below:

1. Market research: You must start with researching the market to understand the opportunities available, the expectations of your target audience, existing competitors, and much more. Before development, you should know how many EV charging points are in the region, the number of electric vehicles, future scope, etc. Analyze the existing EV charging apps and how they work. Understanding all these factors is crucial for the success of your app.
2. Decide features: With the abovementioned features, you can proceed with the EV charging station locator app development. These include essential and advanced features that improve user experience and meet their expectations. Some advanced and unique features in your app will help you stay competitive in the market and drive new users.
3. Finalize platforms: Based on your market research, you will know whether most target audience uses Android or iOS. You can develop the app for both operating systems and make it available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. But if only a negligible part of your audience uses iOS, then you would be better with Android only.
4. Find app development company: The working, performance, user experience, user interface, etc., play a significant role in the success of any mobile app. To ensure that your EV charging station app is robust and high-performing, you must look for a reliable EV charging station locator app development company with experience in creating such apps. In addition, look for an iOS app development company that can also handle UI/UX design and app testing. This will save you time as you get a one-stop solution to bring your business idea to action.
5. App testing: This is the final phase before the app is deployed and made ready for launch. A team of testers will use their methodologies and tools to find and fix the bugs in the app that remain during the development. Without fixing these bugs and flaws, the users will face several issues and may abandon your app. So, ensure that your app is tested well before release.

Cost to Create EV Charging Station Locator App

To answer the last question, how much does it cost to develop an app like ChargePoint, PlugShare, or ChargeMap?

Well, the total cost of EV charging station finder app development depends on some important factors. The influential factors are the region of the app development company you chose, the features you want to integrate, the platforms decided (Android, iOS, or both), and the app complexity.

Regardless of the factors, the average cost of an electric vehicle charging point app development will be somewhere between $10,000 and $40,000.

Wrapping Up

I hope this write-up helped you learn about the various aspects of the EV charging station locator app development process. If you are looking to invest in such an idea, you must know about the app’s workings, the business model, top competitors, user expectations, market trends, and required costs.

For any other doubts or queries related to the EV charging station locator app development process, feel free to connect with our experts or write in the comments below.

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