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OPINION PIECE CHARLES MONTLAKE


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A SUDDEN OF


The electric vehicle market is still struggling to capture the public’s imagination… isn’t it? Parking News caught up with a man who believes the spark is about to ignite


harles Montlake is the managing director and driving force behind Use the Sun, a company that specialises in solar photovoltaic and electric car charging installations. He is so convinced about the potential value in the electric car market that Use the Sun will cover all the capital costs involved in installing a commercial car charging unit, in the certain knowledge that the operator will be able to pay back the costs through revenue raised.


With characteristic candour, Montlake explains: ‘To prove to you that electric vehicle charging can be lucrative, we would like to put a charger in your car park – and to be paid for it only from the income it generates. Until it has paid for itself we will be responsible for all associated expenses, such as maintenance and communications


large parking providers such as motorway service stations as potential clients. ‘I am leaving that market to ecotricity [providers of green electricity solution],’ he explains. ‘I am targeting the larger car parks and those that meet the conditions I have already mentioned – distance travelled and time spent at venue. That’s where people will be charging their cars.’


‘We’re targeting hospitals, large shopping centres, big tourist attractions (from stately homes to amusement parks and zoos), hotels and conference centres, universities, major stations and airports. There are bound to be others I have not thought of, but you get the idea,’ he enthuses.


The idea behind the Use the Sun business plan is that a facility would provide a parking port where the driver could leave their vehicle charging while they used the facilities. They would pay for the electricity used to charge it, providing a secondary income for the business.


We would like to prove to you that


electric vehicle charging can be lucrative. We would like to put a charger in your car park and to be paid for it only from the income it generates


– everything except the electricity. Once we have recovered our costs the charger is yours. If our assumptions regarding electric car charging are wrong, then it will never have cost you a penny.


‘For the electric car charging market to be a viable business prospect for operators, I think there are two conditions that need to be met:  There is a good chance that people will have driven more than 35 miles to get there; and


 Cars must stay there for at least two hours.’


Charles Montlake 22 JULY 2012 Montlake explains that he does not see


Montlake continued: ‘I am also interested in working with managers at smaller venues to explore potential. Sports venues could be one option. Linking with a football club would provide us with great publicity, but the chances are the charger will only be used once every other week when the team are playing at home. It is a question of weighing up the value of that publicity compared with the time it would take to start to see any return on the investment.


‘I would also consider selling to a


supermarket, but I can’t really see people wishing to charge their cars three miles from home. That is something they can do while their vehicles are parked overnight at their own home.’


Montlake is optimistic about the state of the electric vehicle market and the increase in the number and quality of the electric vehicles being manufactured: ‘Last year there were only a few models – this year is the start of the major growth. The Ampera is out; the Renaults are coming soon; more and more models at all ends of the spectrum are about to hit our market so I am excited about the prospects for us.’


www.britishparking.co.uk


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