E-Rickshaw Charging Station – Cost, Setup, and Profits

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India holds the world’s largest E-rickshaw market with 83% of all EVs being electric rickshaws in the country. But this market hasn’t reached its full potential yet. The e-rickshaw owners can simply double their income by opting for the charging stations and on the other hand an “E-Rickshaw charging station” owner can earn hefty profits by charging LEVs (light electric vehicles).

Planning to set up a Charging station?

Connect with 1C for expert advice on EV chargers

Planning to set up a Charging station?

Connect with 1C for expert advice on EV chargers

How to set up E-Rickshaw charging station:

You’ll need to invest in the following equipment while making the charging station:

Land
Charging points
Transformer
Construction work
Software
Station manager

a). Land (own/lease):

The land requirement in E-rickshaw charging stations is relatively low because you don’t need to offer premium services to the customers. For charging 20 E-rickshaws under the same roof at the same time you need at least 100-200 sqYards (Gaz) of land.

Planning to set up a Charging station?

Connect with 1C for expert advice on EV chargers

Download the 1C EV Charging App from:

b). Charging points (₹ 2lakhs):

Generally, you can charge the E-rickshaws with a normal home socket but for commercial EV chargers, you need an advanced setup through which you can monitor the charging, make easy payments, and run all the operations remotely and that’s only possible via the dedicated EV chargers.

So, the point is you need a high-power setup for charging multiple E-Rickshaws.

c). Transformer (₹40,000 – 50,000/-):

By high power setup, I mean the transformers. You can install transformers to step up your power input and distribute the grinding energy into all the E-rickshaws evenly without hurting the voltage.

d). Construction work (₹50-60k):

To run the charging station smoothly you need the basic infrastructure ready. Elements like proper wiring, smooth parking space, and security features are a must for a charging station.

e). Software support (₹10-15k):

You need the software to monitor how much charging is done, to make payments, etc., and in most cases, you get the software along with the charger but in case you need a third-party CMS (software support) you can purchase a dedicated software for your charging station.

f). Station manager (salary bases):

In rare cases, you may need a charging station manager to oversee all the operations and look out for any technical issues at the station.

Planning to set up a Charging station?

Connect with 1C for expert advice on EV chargers

Download the 1C EV Charging App from:

Cost of E-rickshaw Charging station (setup cost):

Calculating widely, you need 3-4 lakh upfront cost for setting up an E-rickshaw charging station with a capacity of 20 vehicles.

Operating cost:

Suppose you charge 50-70 e-rickshaws per day at your station and considering each e-rickshaw consumes 3-4 units you’ll need to spend ₹ 1000-1500 each day on just charging all the EVs.

All in all, the one-time investment cost of setting up an e-rickshaw charging station is 3-4 lakh and the operational cost i.e., the charging cost of e-rickshaws is 5-6 lakhs per year (spending 1 lakh units).

Profit in E-rickshaw charging station:

Now this is one point on which the whole story revolves. Here let’s decode how a charging station can make profits:

Charging the EV’s
As a parking space (Based on the location)
Advertising/sponsoring brands
Selling services or products
Provide some relaxation to the e-rickshaw owners.

You can be more creative and find more ways to earn profits from it.

Here are the numbers,

Considering you charge ₹ 10/unit from the people charging at your station and you invested ₹5/unit for charging e-rickshaws it’s a straight 100% profit. With this calculation, you can recover all your one-time investments within a year and the rest of all will be your green profit.

Conclusion:

Building an E-rickshaw charging business is a profitable business with an enormous growth opportunity in the future. With various earning verticals, you can make a hefty profit doing this business. Keep in mind that you must invest 2-5 lakhs as an upfront investment in this business and it requires significant on-ground knowledge about the market.