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Revenue-Generating Design Award-Winning Installer CEC Accredited

Car Park EV Chargers
for Melbourne Businesses

Shopping centres, offices, retail sites — a car park with EV charging isn't just a facility upgrade, it's a dwell-time engine and a genuine new revenue stream. Supply Solar designs the right charger mix for your visitor pattern, and sets up the billing software that turns it into income.

20-30%
More spend from EV drivers charging on-site
20-50%
Typical markup on resold electricity
3–7yr
Typical payback period for commercial chargers

Free Site Assessment

Visitor pattern · Charger mix · Revenue estimate

No obligation · We call within 2 business hours

NETCC Approved Seller
CEC Accredited Installers
2023 CEC Collaboration Award
2024 EUPD Installer Award
Revenue & billing system set-up
Start here

AC or DC — Which Charger Fits Your Car Park?

The right charger type depends on how long visitors typically stay, not on going as fast as possible. A shopping centre with a 1-3 hour average visit is well served by Level 2 AC — a busy retail site prioritising quick turnover may justify DC fast charging despite the much higher cost.

Longer visits → AC (7-22kW)

Shopping centres, workplaces, hotels — anywhere visitors naturally stay for an hour or more. Lower hardware and installation cost, simpler electrical requirements.

Quick stops → DC (50-150kW+)

High-turnover retail strips, servo-style locations, sites wanting to capture drivers who need a fast top-up and move on. Higher revenue potential, higher upfront cost.

Most sites don't need to choose

Many shopping centres now run a mix — mostly AC for the general car park, with one or two DC units near the entrance to capture both visitor types.

Don't oversize for where you are today — it's easier and cheaper to scale up once demand is established than to have unused DC capacity sitting idle.

The core decision

What Does Your Site Type Need?

Dwell time, visitor pattern and business goals all point to a different charger strategy.

Site type Typical dwell time Recommended chargers Primary value
Shopping centre / retailDwell-time engine 1-3 hours Level 2 AC, with select DC for turnover Increased spend and unplanned visits during charge time
Office / workplaceStaff benefit Full working day Level 2 AC — matches natural parking duration Talent attraction, ESG reporting, tenant retention
Hospitality / hotelGuest amenity Overnight Level 2 AC, ample time for full charge Guest satisfaction, booking differentiation
High-turnover retailRevenue-focused Under 1 hour DC fast charging (50-150kW+) Highest per-session revenue, captures passing traffic

EV drivers actively plan trips around locations with convenient charging — the presence of chargers becomes a genuine reason to choose your site over a competitor's.

See our full Commercial EV Charging guide →
Beyond the charging fee

How Car Park Chargers Actually Make Money

Most people assume there's one revenue stream — someone pays to charge. The most profitable sites stack several income sources on the same hardware.

The core model: buy electricity at wholesale rates, resell at a 20-50% markup through per-kWh or per-session fees. Public AC destination charging commonly runs $0.25-$0.40/kWh; DC fast charging runs $0.40-$0.85/kWh. Volume is everything — the more sessions per day, the more that margin adds up.
Revenue stream How it works Why it matters
Direct charging fees Per-kWh or per-session pricing, set and collected automatically via OCPP-compliant billing software The foundation revenue stream — recovers electricity cost plus margin
Increased dwell-time spend EV drivers charging on-site shop, eat, or browse instead of sitting in the car — commonly 20-30% more spend Indirect but often the larger financial benefit for retail sites
Tenant & loyalty offers Free or discounted charging for loyalty members, tenants, or long-term customers Drives repeat visits and differentiates the site competitively
Branding & cross-promotion Charger units can carry branding, advertising or cross-promotional messaging An additional, low-effort monetisation layer on existing hardware

The Tesla Model Y became Australia's best-selling vehicle outright in May 2026 — the EV driver you're designing for is no longer a niche customer.

OCPP-compliant software isn't optional for a commercial deployment — it's what handles billing, access control, usage tracking and remote monitoring without manual administration on your end.
Real numbers — a mid-sized retail car park

What a Shopping Centre Installation Looks Like — Melbourne

A retail site with a mix of AC destination chargers and one or two DC fast chargers near the entrance is a common configuration — capturing both the browsing shopper and the quick top-up visitor.

Actual costs and returns vary by site electrical capacity and charger count. Supply Solar models your specific site in every assessment.

Get My Free Site Assessment
Level 2 AC charger (hardware)$2,000-$7,000/unit
DC fast charger (hardware)$30,000-$150,000+/unit
Site works & installation$5,000-$50,000/site typical
Typical resale markup20-50% on wholesale electricity
Typical payback period3-7 years
Indirect benefitFoot traffic & dwell-time spend
Why car park charging pays off

Six Reasons It Makes Sense in 2026

Fully electric vehicles hit 20.6% of new sales in May 2026

More than double the same month a year earlier — the volume of drivers actively looking for somewhere to charge is growing faster than most sites are keeping pace with.

Charging becomes a reason to visit

A driver stopping for a 30-40 minute top-up doesn't sit in the car — they shop, buy coffee, collect an order — turning a charging stop into an unplanned visit.

Apartment dwellers rely on public charging

Around 30% of Australians live without dedicated home parking — for these drivers, your car park may be their only practical charging option.

Billing software makes it hands-off

OCPP-compliant systems handle payment, access control and monitoring automatically — no manual administration burden on your team.

Workplace charging attracts talent

It's become a tangible employee perk in a competitive job market, alongside sustainability reporting benefits for corporate landlords and tenants.

Early sites gain a competitive edge

Businesses installing chargers now become the default stop for EV drivers in the area, before competitors catch up.

From assessment to live revenue

How a Car Park Charging Project Works

01

Site & visitor pattern assessment

We assess your car park's electrical capacity and typical visitor dwell time to determine the right AC/DC mix for your site type.

02

System design & revenue modelling

You receive a proposal specifying charger count and type, indicative pricing strategy, and a realistic revenue and payback estimate.

03

Billing & access software set-up

We configure OCPP-compliant billing, access control and monitoring software, so the system runs itself once live.

04

Installation & commissioning

Our CEC-accredited team installs the hardware, connects the electrical backbone, and hands over a car park ready to charge and earn.

Why Melbourne businesses choose us

Accredited, Award-Winning & Fully In-House

Visitor-pattern-first, not hardware-first

We start with how long people actually stay at your site, not a generic charger recommendation — the right mix matters more than the fastest chargers.

2023 CEC Award & 2024 EUPD Award

Independent industry recognition of installation quality and customer experience — the benchmarks that matter for a revenue-generating asset.

Real revenue estimates, not sales talk

Every proposal models realistic usage and pricing for your specific site type — not an inflated best-case scenario.

CEC-accredited, compliance-first

Every installation meets current electrical and accessibility standards, completed by our own accredited team.

Across Melbourne & Regional Victoria

Car Park Charging Near Your Site

Supply Solar designs and installs EV charging for commercial car parks across greater Melbourne and regional Victoria.

4.9★ · 312 reviews

What Melbourne Businesses Say

"We thought EV chargers were just a cost centre for the goodwill points. Supply Solar showed us the billing side properly — turns out it's paying for itself and bringing in customers who wouldn't have stopped otherwise."

GF
Grace F.Centre Manager · South East Melbourne shopping centre

"Staff parking meant we didn't need fast chargers at all — simple AC bays for the whole day was way cheaper than what the first quote we got assumed we needed. Genuinely useful advice, not just an upsell."

SP
Sam P.Facilities Manager · Melbourne CBD office building

"The billing software was the part I was most worried about — didn't want to be chasing payments manually. It just runs itself now, and we can see exactly what each charger's earning."

LK
Louise K.Owner · Mornington Peninsula retail precinct
Straight answers

Car Park Charger FAQs

Can EV chargers actually generate revenue for a car park?
Yes. Buy electricity wholesale, resell at a 20-50% markup via per-kWh or per-session fees. AC destination charging commonly runs $0.25-$0.40/kWh; DC fast charging $0.40-$0.85/kWh. See how the revenue stacks →
Do chargers really increase customer dwell time and spending?
Global market evidence shows EV drivers commonly spend 20-30% more when charging on-site. A driver stopping for a 30-40 minute charge shops, buys coffee, or collects an order instead of sitting in the car.
Should I install AC or DC chargers?
Depends on typical visit duration. Level 2 AC (11-22kW) suits 1-3 hour shopping trips at much lower cost. DC fast (50-150kW+) suits high-turnover sites wanting rapid top-ups and extra revenue, at substantially higher cost. See the full comparison →
What does it cost to install commercial EV chargers?
Level 2 AC: $2,000-$7,000/unit hardware. DC fast: $30,000-$150,000+/unit. Installation and site works typically add $5,000-$50,000 per site in Melbourne. DC can also trigger grid connection upgrades.
What billing software is needed?
OCPP-compliant software is effectively required — handling billing, access control, usage tracking and remote monitoring, so you can set pricing and offer loyalty discounts without manual admin.
How long until commercial chargers pay for themselves?
Most installations see positive returns within 3-7 years, depending on usage, pricing and incentives — plus indirect benefits like foot traffic and tenant satisfaction. Get your site's revenue estimate →
Can solar power my car park's chargers?
Yes — an increasingly common pairing for workplaces and daytime sites. Solar directly powers charging during business hours, reducing grid reliance, while battery storage can help avoid peak tariffs.
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Ready to Turn Your Car Park Into a Revenue Stream?

Book a free, no-obligation site assessment. Supply Solar designs the right charger mix for your visitor pattern, sets up the billing software, and gives you a realistic revenue estimate before you commit.

No obligation · Revenue & billing set-up included · CEC-accredited · Melbourne & Regional Victoria

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