Jet dealer Oasis Services has seen a significant uplift in valeting and shop sales after installing two bays of electric vehicle charging at its site in Long Riston, near Hull.
The family-owned business says that jet wash income has gone up 35%, and vacuum machine use by 50% since installing a 360kW Jet Charge unit last week (Friday, January 16).
Also, some 90% of customers charging their vehicles also buy items from its Spar shop: with coffee, sandwiches and confectionery among impulse categories seeing the biggest benefit.
As a launch offer, until the end of January, the site is offering the charging for free, to build up business and grab attention in the press and on social media. Currently, Oasis Services has been using the same wattage for electric vehicle charging in half a day that other sites achieve in an entire week.
So says operations director Oliver Blake, who has entered a five-year agreement with his fuel supplier. “We have been hitting this from every marketing angle, and the chargepoint has been in full use from 16 to 17 hours a day, with queues of six cars at some times of the day,” says Blake, who has entered a five-year agreement with his fuel supplier.
The arrangement is that Jet leases the land from Oasis Services, and pays for the equipment, which includes battery back-up to ensure ultra-rapid charging speeds even during peak electricity demand.
Oasis Services is one of eight forecourts to now have the Jet Charge service – with 18 chargers split between four company-owned and four dealer sites.
Blake hopes that once the paid for charging becomes established and hits 20 cars using the service daily, Jet will agree to giving him a profit share of the income as well.
He says that it will be important to him that Jet is competitive with its pricing on the pole for EV charging, as he has built a reputation for being one of the cheapest garages in the area on fuel.
He is about to be featured on the ZapMap app, the consumer mapping service for sites offering EV charging. And he has plans to launch a deliver to car service for motorists waiting in their cars while charging. This will operate via a QR code on the equipment’s digital screen, taking motorists through to its recently launched Flash Delivery app.
“I was in two minds whether to offer a deliver to car service as it could discourage customers from coming into the shop,” says Blake. ”But for some people who are pushed for time, and who don’t want to be judged on what they are ordering, I think this will work,” says Blake.
Also, the knock-on effect that EV charging is having on his valeting has prompted plans to increase from one to two jet wash bays, to be housed under a canopy.
Blake adds: “We’re really pleased with how the chargepoint has been creating more business for valeting and in the shop, and want to make sure that we are exploring every opportunity that it creates.”
