From Kemijärvi to Vilnius – we doubled the number of devices in a year
The year 2020 has been anything but pleasant due to the general global situation. The global pandemic has forced many companies to change their operating models. Depending on the industry, the change has been challenging or meaningful.
One thing that the current global situation has not seemed to affect is the electrification of transport. The status report shows that by the end of September there were 47,921 rechargeable vehicles in Finland, with the number growing at an annual rate of over 90 percent. The market share of new vehicles was 23%, a record. The direction of the electrification of transport seems to be clear. For us, as a company offering digital charging and parking services to properties, one new rechargeable vehicle potentially brings up to two new customers: a housing company and a company parking lot.
According to research, electric car chargers prefer to charge their cars at home and at work, where the car is parked anyway. In these locations, slow charging is generally sufficient.
Today, as I write this text, we have 19,200 possibilities to charge electric cars in operation. Of these, approximately 75% are located in private or restricted parking areas, the remaining 25% are located near services, such as shopping centers. The northernmost chargers are located in Kemijärvi, the southernmost in Vilnius, the westernmost in Uusikaupunki and the easternmost in Joensuu.
Our user base has grown steadily, reaching around 110,000 at the time of writing. eParking is still the cheapest mobile payment method for on-street parking, with the feature being an additional service for us that we offer to our users. Perhaps other services will eventually be added to the eParking app map base in addition to charging electric cars and paying for parking.
As the year draws to a close, it would be a good time to thank our customers in particular for the past year. I would also like to thank our partners and of course my own colleagues. You all do valuable work and are professionals in your own work.
Wishing you a peaceful Christmas season and a successful New Year,
Antti Hiekkanen, Chief Operating Officer
