There are three key factors preventing motorists from going electric, according to research from Autolist: high vehicle costs, limited range of travel and poor access to charging ports. The industry’s biggest players are racing to address factors one and two, and Joel Teague of Co Charger has set his sights on factor three. In doing so, he aims to reduce the UK’s CO2 output by 100,000 tonnes by the end of 2022.
“The government’s strategy assumes that if it builds enough public chargers, that will do the trick,” says Joel. “But the fact is that for every public charger, there are 10 underused home chargers, and all in places you want them to be – close to where people sleep.”
Joel isn’t the first to have spotted this. Airbnb-style apps already enable EV owners to park up and plug in on a host’s driveway, but Co Charger isn’t targeting EV owners away from home. The app targets the 40% of drivers that want to go electric but can’t because they live in a block of flats, a terrace, or a rented property where they can’t install a charger.
Co Charger’s community approach enables this demographic to buy EVs, safe in the knowledge that there are numerous hosts, within a few minutes’ walk of home, that can offer regular charging sessions with scheduling and payment managed by the app. Those with chargers can generate a regular weekly income and the community as a whole can enjoy cleaner air.
Joel’s background is in project management and agility, and says, “you soon learn humility in my line of work. It’s important to accept that you don’t know everything, and before starting work with Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), I wasn’t aware how weak we were on brand identity.”
EEN, funded by Innovate UK and delivered by Business West, supported Co Charger in creating a new marketing framework through Advisor, Phil Johnston. “It’s proved incredibly important,” says Joel, “we now have a real character and DNA for the brand, with consistency in the way the company comes across. Every ad, interview, video, and website page will now have the same personality. I wouldn’t have known how to do that.”
Joel has also received support in access to finance, which he says has been “so important in challenging some of the assumptions we’ve made and the way we come across in pitches.”
“What’s lovely also is that my advisor, Yvette Coles, has been so efficient. I tend to work at a million miles per hour and after my first conversation with her on the Wednesday, I was already receiving critical support by Friday.”
“Overall, the support and information from EEN has been absolutely vital – I’d say I probably wouldn’t have got the business going without it.”
Co Charger will continue to be supported by EEN as it enters launch phase, helping to achieve the UK’s net zero carbon targets with a clear and distinct message:
Co charger: Together we’re electrifying.
- Log in to post comments