Housing association and parking lot charging of electric cars grew almost tenfold in two years
Tampere-based eParking's network already has more than 65,000 charging points in housing estates and parking areas across Finland. The charging volumes of electric cars using the network have increased from 2021 to 2023 almost tenfold.
In 2021, 2.5 million kWh of electric cars were charged at eParking charging points, in 2022 the number increased to 7.7 million kWh and in 2023 the number was already over 22 million kWh. The growth has been huge and in the first quarter of this year alone, the number of charging points has increased by 5,000.
eParking is a pioneer in electric transport, which has been developing the company and housing association charging network and its intelligent services in Finland for more than 15 years, achieving Finland's largest charging network suitable for all electric cars in companies, housing associations, parking garages and other parking areas.
A success story from Tampere
"The idea for the company started in the student apartment of an automation engineering student from Tampere. The idea of a remotely controlled heating pole came about when it was 300 meters to my parking space and due to irregular driving times, the car was mostly frozen, as the timing of the pole did not correspond to the actual departure time. This is how IGL-Technologies Oy and eTolppa, a remotely controlled car heating pole, started in 2009. The student friends soon noticed that eTolppa could also be used to charge electric cars. However, there were very few electric cars at that time, so the company primarily focused on marketing the product as a Premium heating pole from the point of view of intelligent energy management solutions and energy saving. The real growth of the company only started to be seen when rechargeable cars became more common and the comprehensive parking and charging solution eParking was born", sums up Kirsi Immonen, marketing director of IGL-Technologies Oy.
Most of the charging needs of electric cars are at home or at work
A comprehensive company and housing association charging network is one of the most important factors in the smooth daily traffic of electric cars. The electric car can be charged up to 150-400 kilometers during the night or working day, depending on the charging power. The average driving performance of a Finnish car driver is about 43 kilometers, so charging the car while parking covers the charging needs of almost all electric car drivers. That's why corporate and housing association charging are one of the most important attractive factors in the promotion of electric transport. The majority of electricity is charged at home or at work.
"One of our most significant projects this year is the opening of the Niittykummu parking garage in Espoo in early 2024. In cooperation with IGL, UTU delivered to the parking garage in Espoo more than 130 UTUReX slow charging devices and several UTUMaX basic charging devices, which can both charge electric cars and heat combustion engine cars. The charging stations were connected to the eParking system, enabling smooth station use as well as invoicing and load management. The products have been developed and manufactured in Finland at UTU's factory in Ulvila, and they are excellently suited for e.g. housing association and workplace use. According to our experience, our customers appreciate Finnish products and Finnish know-how, so together IGL and UTU perfectly meet the parking needs of Finns," says Anu Rantala, head of the EV charging business unit at UTU Oy.
More information:
Antti Hiekkanen, Chief Operating Officer, IGL-Technologies Oy, +358 40 820 8840, antti.hiekkanen@igl.fi
Johanna Teinilä, marketing and communications manager, UTU Oy, +358 50 371 3818, johanna.teinila@utu.eu
eParking is Finland's leading provider of digital parking and charging solutions for electric cars, with more than 65,000 charging points around the country. With our application, you can conveniently manage parking permits, electricity consumption and billing in one place. We offer comprehensive solutions for parking and charging electric cars along streets, in parking garages and in other areas. With more than 15 years of experience, IGL-Technologies Oy, which operates in our background, is committed to making the everyday life of motorists easier by offering clear and innovative solutions to the challenges of electrification and parking management. Our goal is to promote sustainable transport by offering smart and easy-to-use solutions for both individuals and companies.
UTU Oy is an over 100-year-old leading Finnish operator offering products and services in the field of electricity and automation, with subsidiaries in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway. UTU is involved in the critical points of the electricity industry, both in the electrification of buildings, electricity distribution and energy production, as well as in automation solutions. In the production facilities in Ulvila, domestic charging devices for electric cars as well as power centers and park transformers are manufactured. Turnover in the UTU Group in 2023 was 53 MEUR and the number of personnel was 190. UTU #OsaaJaTekee.
Release 19 April 2024
