ChargePoint just made it easier for small businesses and multifamily housing to offer EV charging. The company introduced the ChargePoint Essential cloud plan that eliminates traditional software subscription fees by using driver payments to cover costs.
Instead of a typical subscription, the Essential plan uses a portion of the payments from EV drivers to cover a small software fee. Any extra revenue goes directly to the station owner each month. ChargePoint includes the activation fee as part of the plan, which makes setting up the system simpler.
The new plan is currently available with ChargePoint’s new affordable Level 2 charger, the CPF50, which provides up to 12 kW of power, allowing most EVs to charge in around 4-8 hours. The idea is to make EV charging accessible without the burden of ongoing software fees, particularly for places like apartments, hotels, workplaces, and other shared locations. Essentially, charging revenue pays for the cloud service itself, which means small businesses or property owners can offer charging without needing to worry about subscription renewals or upfront software costs.
The CPF50 charger, paired with the Essential cloud plan, is aimed at shared charging situations where the station might be restricted to residents, customers, employees, or guests. Multiple people can share a single charger while paying individually for their usage, and building management can avoid getting bogged down with subscription or billing hassles. The payment system is designed to make management easy.
ChargePoint CEO Rick Wilmer said, “ChargePoint wants small businesses to offer EV charging as seamlessly and easily as possible.” The Essential plan allows businesses to minimize upfront investment, with the CPF50 charger priced at $699 and costs covered through driver payments. For properties that want to add charging stations but don’t have a lot of money to invest upfront, this could be a smart way to do it.
The plan also helps keep costs down during installation. The CPF50 offers options for both single and dual-port configurations, and its power-sharing feature means you can add more stations without overwhelming the electrical service. This helps keep installation affordable and scalable for businesses or residential properties looking to expand EV infrastructure.
Read more: ChargePoint launches an affordable EV charger for fleets
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