Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular around the world, and Ukraine is no exception. In 2016, 4 percent of all sold cars in Ukraine were electric cars. This means that every 25th car buyer made a choice in favor of electric cars. Among the brands, Nissan Leaf is the leader. They can be bought from the official representatives of the company in Ukraine. Also in Ukraine you can buy electric cars BMW, Renault and Hyundai from official dealers. The sales growth was influenced by the legislative abolition of duties on import of electric cars. It is worth noting that Ukrainians often buy used electric cars. This is another argument in favor of the fact that more service stations will be needed in the future.
All of the above statistics mean that the market of charging points and service station centers for electric cars, which is still quite free, will develop. We have conducted research and gathered facts about the people who are the target audience for such services.
We have also already written about the branding of filling stations, you can read our material here. From it you will learn how to design a modern gas station to differentiate from competitors.
Back in 2014, there were only 50 recharging points for electric cars in Ukraine. Today, there are more than 400 of them, and new ones appear almost daily. At the same time, they are still insufficient, most charging points belong to the old generation of charging and the time of charging a car in such a point is quite long. Fast charging points (fastcharging technology) are still few. There are about 10 of them in Kiev (private ones do not count).
Let’s tell a little about the technical parameters on the example of Tesla. It is necessary to charge the car once for 490 kilometers, if you drive at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour, or 580 kilometers, if you drive at a speed of 60-70 kilometers per hour. It’s pretty straightforward with the tech inspection, too. Tesla needs to be inspected once per 45 thousand kilometers of mileage.
Portrait of the electric vehicle consumer
Electric cars are popular among the younger generation. They are compact, economical, emission-free, and very fast, accelerating in a couple of seconds.
To assess who could become the target audience of service stations and charging points for electric cars, let’s consider electric car owners. We have studied their interests and compiled a fairly detailed portrait of them.
Consumers choose electric cars for 2 main reasons:
- concern for the environment;
- A commitment to all things new and a love of technology.
There are 2 types of consumers whose mindset is very different from each other. The first know less about technology, most likely they do not understand the principles of electric car operation and may not be interested in the technological side of the issue. For example, they do not know that it is better not to use an electric car in severe frosts. The environment is very important to them. Many of them are vegetarians (or vegans), some of them share left-wing political views. Another part is apolitical. Such people are open to the world, they like bright and comfortable clothes, probably do yoga permanently, and are fond of Indian culture.
The second type of consumers are people whose work is connected with modern technologies. They may be IT specialists, marketers, designers, top managers or own their own business. They also care about the environment, but have opted for an electric car because of their love for technology. They have a keen interest in gadgets, speak good English, and are often abroad. Their interests include artificial intelligence, virtual reality technologies, everything that Ilon Musk does, and his company SpaceX in particular (we wrote about Musk in the article about personality branding). Among messengers, they prefer Telegram.
The majority of electric car owners belong to the age group of 30 and above, about 40 percent of them are women and the remaining 60 percent are men. The vast majority of them prefer Apple technology, dwell in social networks Facebook and Instagram. The third most popular is Twitter.
Based on the above values, you can understand what your potential CA likes and how to lure them to the right maintenance or charging point.
If you need a detailed consumer portrait-avatar, feel free to call or write right now. KOLORO marketers will provide accurate and up-to-date information. Read more about how we conduct research here.
We’ve also written about branding in IT, in this article you’ll find tips on what to build a technology brand on to make it successful.
Consumption situation and charging point selection situation
In Europe, there are a lot of service points and charging points. In Ukraine, the situation is not so rosy. The main problem is the concentration of charging points in the city center and their absence in the periphery.
The second problem is that many companies that provide charging or inspection services do so under limited conditions. A motorist must be a member of a club and a holder of a club card. Accordingly, in theory, there are more than 400 charging stations in Ukraine, but not everyone can get free access to them.
It will be important for new players in the market of charging points and service centers for electric cars to pay attention to the dormitory areas of the city. There are almost no charging points there, and this will be a good option for new entrants to the market.
Currently, Ukrainians charge at WOG, OKKO, Oxygen Group, E-Line, Toka and AutoEnterprise. Most of them are located in crowded places: near shopping malls, restaurants and hotels. WOG, OKKO points are part of classic filling stations.
Design and corporate identity of service stations for electric vehicles: trends
Today there are 2 global worldwide trends in the design of recharging points and service stations:
- eco-style (or ecoism);
- futurism.
The former are characterized by the use of all shades of green, neat rounded shapes, emphasis in the logo and presentation on environmental safety, green energy, etc. The latter are characterized by an abundance of silver, black, navy blue and dark purple. Their lines are sleek and elongated, and they evoke associations with future technologies. You can often find stations that evoke associations with space and spaceships.
It’s not hard to conclude that design trends are the CA influence of electric cars.
When it comes to market leaders, Tesla service stations and charging points are responsible for futuristic style, while Nissan stations are responsible for ecoism. The appearance of Tesla stations is associated with innovation, speed and dynamics.
The main point to remember is the CA’s dislike of complicated and bulky things. It is not for nothing that consumers have chosen in favor of small and fast, technological cars. Therefore, the logo of service stations and charging points should be simple. Do not complicate and weight the design.
To develop a corporate identity and logo for your brand,KOLORO can help . Contact us now for a free consultation. You can write to your manager in the bottom right corner of the site.
Advertising promotion of gas stations and service stations for electric vehicles
There are several means of disseminating information about service stations and charging points. Internet advertising will work most effectively. It is doubly convenient that the entire audience of electric car users uses the Internet on a daily basis, which means that there is no need to spend money on TV commercials.
We’ve highlighted a few places where posting would be most appropriate.
- A variety of sites for car enthusiasts.
- Sites about the city and lifestyle, such as V Gorode, BJ or Platforma.
- Geek portals about technology.
- Publication in blogs and social networks of opinion leaders, for example on Facebook or Telegram by Ukrainian technology guru Andriy Brodetsky, ex-editor of Apparat technology magazine.
It’s also worth setting up contextual advertising and Facebook ads.
If we are talking about the promotion strategy and the image of the company, it is worth focusing on innovation and moving forward, learning new things, reaching the top. All of this can be diluted a little with the inclusions of “green” technologies, but it is not worth emphasizing them.
Additional services at service stations and recharging points for electric cars: ideas and implementation
If a new company installs fastcharging points, there is no point in opening a café next to them. But for slower charging points, a point with food would not be superfluous.
As for the service station, if the territory allows, you can create a small cafe with a simple kitchen. It is desirable to have a few vegetarian items on the menu. If the gas station and service station are on the highway, a dry cleaner and possibly a shower would not hurt. A minimarket would not be superfluous either.
If we’ve inspired you to brand an electric car workshop, or you’d like to explore this further, contact a branding agency KOLORO. Take a step towards the future!
