EnerSavings, a leading energy-management company offering electric vehicle charging options for homeowners, multi-residential properties and businesses, has developed a program specifically aimed at dealerships.
Known as EV Ready Set Go, the program is designed to educate dealers on installing charging stations to make them compliant with manufacturers’ criteria for selling EVs and provide a product to consumers as part of their car purchases.
EnerSavings is showcasing its services as the presenting sponsor of the Electric City feature at the 2023 Canadian International AutoShow, February 17-26 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. EnerSavings will occupy 4,000 square feet of Electric City’s 30,000 square feet.
EnerSavings Co-Founder/Chief Executive Officer Kevin Lisso told Canadian auto dealer his company, which has been installing chargers in shopping malls and hotels for five years, has eight contracts with 10 dealers, primarily in B.C. and Quebec. He said his company has reached out to more than 100 representatives from dealers to visit its display at the AutoShow’s VIP night on February 15.
“Dealers are looking for answers, to be honest with you,” said Lisso. “They want to put their money into selling vehicles. They are not interested in figuring this out. We’ve got the plan and we’ll take care of it.”
Lisso said dealerships are looking at investing in charging stations as a revenue source and a service to their customers buying EVs. EnerSavings pays the dealers a percentage for the chargers consumers rent or buy outright. Additionally, EnerSavings takes care of the installation.
“It’s a one-stop shop for dealers,” said Lisso. “It’s a good add-on customer service.”
- Lisso said his company began working on the EV Ready And Go program a year ago and went to market in the last few months when it knew what manufacturers were doing insofar as requiring dealers to make significant financial upgrades to make them compliant for selling EVs.
“We started reaching out and talking to dealers and they had the brakes on saying they had to take directions from corporate,” said Lisso. “So we couldn’t do anything (at the start), but now pretty well every manufacturer is giving the rules, regulations and criteria to their dealers.”
He said the criteria is based on the square footage of the actual building, and on average this represents two to four chargers in service bays, one to four in the prep area and one to two in front for visitor parking. He said his company does a design build and sets up revenue models in which the dealers pay a set amount of money per month. EnerSavings is partnering with finance company Vista Services. “It’s reasonable interest and we finance these things for them so they don’t have to put any capital into it,” said Lisso.
