Public EV Charging at Car Dealerships: Opportunity, Strategy, and What Australian Dealers Need to Know
Walk into a car dealership today and you will notice things are changing. More electric vehicles are arriving in showrooms, customers are asking questions about charging, and dealerships are rethinking what the customer experience looks like in an electric future.
The numbers tell the story. In 2025, more than 157,000 electric vehicles were sold across Australia — a 38 per cent jump on the previous year. EVs now represent 13.1 per cent of all new car sales, up from 9.6 per cent in 2024. Battery electric vehicle sales exceeded 100,000 units in a single year for the first time. That is not a niche market. That is a structural shift.
For Australian dealerships, the question is no longer whether to engage with EV charging infrastructure. It is how to do it well.
The Core Decision: Open to the Public or Customers Only?
One of the biggest decisions dealers face is simple: should EV chargers be available to everyone, or just people doing business with you?
There is no universal right answer, but there are clear trade-offs worth understanding.
Dealerships that open their chargers to the public gain foot traffic from EV drivers who might otherwise have no reason to visit. A 20–40 minute fast charge is enough time for someone to browse the showroom, ask questions, or pick up a brochure. Some dealerships are already generating modest revenue by charging a per-kWh fee. Others use public charging as a brand signal: it positions them as EV-forward before a customer even walks through the door.
The case for keeping chargers private is equally valid. Demonstration vehicles need to be ready for test drives at a moment’s notice. Service customers expect their cars to be charged when they collect them. A showroom floor full of flat EVs is not a good look. If your chargers are always occupied by members of the public, your own operational needs suffer.
Many dealerships will ultimately run a split approach: a small number of DC fast chargers visible from the street with public access, and a larger bank of AC chargers behind the scenes for stock and servicing.
Key question to ask yourself:
If a customer drove past your dealership at 7pm, would they see EV chargers in use? Would that tell them something about your brand?
Choosing the Right Charger Mix
Most dealerships need both AC and DC charging, but for very different purposes.
AC chargers (7–22 kW) are slower but cheaper to install and run. They are ideal for vehicles that are parked for extended periods — display cars, staff vehicles, and cars sitting in the service bay for the day. A car plugged in overnight on an AC charger will be fully charged by morning. In terms of cost, commercial AC charger units typically run $700–$3,000 per unit, with installation adding another $1,000–$4,000 depending on your site.
DC fast chargers (50–150 kW) are a different proposition. They can add 100–200 km of range in 20–30 minutes, which makes them suitable for customer top-ups, test drive turnarounds, and public-facing charging. The trade-off is cost: commercial DC units range from $15,000 to $35,000, with installation adding another $10,000–$25,000. For a site with multiple DC chargers, you could easily be looking at $100,000 or more before any government support is factored in.
The good news is that government funding can dramatically reduce that figure — which brings us to the most important thing Australian dealers need to know right now.
The DRIVEN Program: What Australian Dealers Can Access
The Australian Government’s DRIVEN Charger Rebate Stream is specifically designed for dealerships and EV repairers. It is one of the most direct and practical funding opportunities available to the automotive sector, and many dealers are not yet taking advantage of it.
Here is what is on the table:
Up to $3,000 per eligible fixed smart EV charging plug or portable DC charger installed at your site
Up to $21,000 per site across multiple chargers
Available to licensed motor dealers and EV service providers nationally
The program runs until April 2028, with annual funding rounds
From 2026–27, it expands to include EV-specific workshop expenses
The program is administered through business.gov.au and is part of the broader $60 million DRIVEN Program under the Driving the Nation Fund. Applications for the current round closed in April 2026, with the next round opening shortly after the start of the 2026–27 financial year.
Action item:
Check business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/driven-charger-rebate-stream for current round status and eligibility requirements. If you missed this round, the next opens in July 2026.
State-Level Support Worth Knowing
Beyond the federal DRIVEN program, a number of state-level incentives can be stacked on top or used independently. The landscape shifts regularly, so always verify current eligibility before budgeting, but here is the current picture:
Queensland: Government investment in 100+ DC fast charging stations across the state, plus EV purchase rebates of $3,000–$6,000 available to eligible businesses
Western Australia: The Charge Up Workplace Grants cover up to 50 per cent of charger and installation costs for eligible businesses, though programs can close when funding is exhausted
South Australia: State investment in a 530-charger statewide network with 140 stations, creating both infrastructure and public awareness that benefits dealerships
ACT: Interest-free loans of up to $15,000 for eligible EV charging equipment
NT: $1,000 grant towards residential EV chargers, with business support evolving
The patchwork nature of state incentives is a genuine frustration, but the federal DRIVEN program applies everywhere, which levels the playing field for regional dealerships.
The Infrastructure Question Most Dealers Underestimate
Installing EV chargers is not as simple as running a new power point. The most common surprise for dealerships is the state of their existing electrical infrastructure.
Multiple EVs charging simultaneously create a significant load. A site running four DC fast chargers at once could be drawing 200–600 kW — more than many commercial properties currently have available. Before chargers go in, an electrical audit is essential.
The good news is that smart load management systems can significantly reduce the need for expensive grid upgrades. These systems distribute available power dynamically across chargers, ensuring vehicles charge as efficiently as possible without overwhelming the supply. For dealerships with moderate charging needs, load management can often mean the difference between a $5,000 installation and a $50,000 network upgrade.
Other infrastructure factors to plan for:
Switchboard capacity and age — older switchboards often need upgrading ($1,500–$2,500) before commercial chargers can be installed
Distance from switchboard to charging locations — long cable runs add cost and can affect charge speeds
Single-phase vs three-phase power — three-phase enables faster AC charging but requires appropriate supply
Future-proofing — conduit and cabling installed now is far cheaper than retrofitting when you add more chargers later
Pairing Charging with Solar: A Practical Consideration
Rooftop solar is increasingly common across Australian commercial properties, and a dealership forecourt is often ideal for it — large, flat, and sun-exposed.
Pairing solar generation with EV charging serves two purposes. It reduces the operating cost of running chargers (particularly AC chargers that run for hours at a time), and it reduces the peak demand your site draws from the grid, which can lower your electricity tariff structure.
For public-facing DC fast charging where you are charging customers per kWh, solar can meaningfully improve margin. For internal operations, it reduces the ongoing cost of keeping your stock charged.
Battery storage adds another layer of flexibility, allowing solar energy generated during the day to be used for evening charging, and helping smooth peak demand charges. The upfront cost is higher, but for high-volume charging sites, the numbers can stack up.
Any solar or battery storage investment should be assessed by a qualified energy consultant who understands both the commercial tariff structures in your state and the interaction with your EV charging load.
The Business Case: More Than Just a Service Amenity
It is worth being direct about the commercial case for EV charging, because it goes beyond simply keeping up with the market.
Customer dwell time is a genuine lever for dealerships. A customer who spends 30 minutes in your showroom while their car charges is worth more than one who drops off a car and leaves. Dealerships that have installed public charging report meaningful increases in showroom enquiries from people who had no prior intent to buy.
Revenue generation from public charging is modest but real. Charging fees in Australia typically range from $0.35 to $0.65 per kWh for DC fast charging. A busy charger running 6–8 sessions per day can generate $20–50 per day in revenue per unit. That does not cover the capital cost quickly, but it does contribute to operating costs over time.
Staff and technician readiness is a softer but important factor. As EV servicing volumes grow, dealerships that have had chargers in their workshops for 18 months will have technicians who are comfortable with the equipment. Those that install chargers at the last minute will not.
Brand positioning matters more than it might seem. With EVs now at 13 per cent of new car sales and trending toward 20–25 per cent within a few years, buyers are increasingly using a dealership’s EV competence as a proxy for overall quality. Chargers in the forecourt signal competence before a customer even parks.
Where to Start
For most dealerships, the practical starting point is an electrical audit of your site combined with a clear view of your operational requirements. From there:
Determine your internal charging needs, how many vehicles need to be charged daily, over what timeframe, and to what level
Decide your position on public access, full public access, customer-only, or a split approach
Get quotes for both AC and DC infrastructure, including load management systems
Check your eligibility for the DRIVEN Charger Rebate Stream before committing to a supplier
Ask your electrician whether a solar assessment is worth undertaking at the same time
The federal DRIVEN program in particular is worth moving on. The funding rounds are finite and competitive, and the next round opens in July 2026. Dealerships that have done their electrical audit and know what they want to install are in a far better position to move quickly when applications open.
The Bottom Line
EV charging is quickly becoming a core part of the dealership experience, not an optional extra. Australian customers increasingly expect it, and the market data suggests that expectation will only intensify.
The dealerships that move now, while federal funding is available, while the infrastructure learning curve is still manageable, and while competitors have not yet acted — will be better positioned for the next few years of rapid EV growth than those that wait for the question to become urgent.
The question is not whether to invest in EV charging. It is how to invest wisely, and how quickly you can move.