The automotive industry is shifting to an electric future with an estimated 21% of new passenger car registrations projected to be electric in 2024 – up from less than 10% three years ago, according to estimates by Euromonitor International.
With an increasingly competitive and maturing industry, companies are looking to seize their customer base through engaging, targeted and unique loyalty provisions. Such schemes have stretched across numerous sub-industries of mobility including charge point operators (CPOs), shared mobility, car rental companies and automotive OEMs.
CPOs building partnerships with retailers as they look to draw EV drivers
It is no secret that electric vehicle (EV) charging typically takes longer than filling up with petrol or diesel at a fuel pump station. Typically, at retail locations, AC (alternate current) chargers allow vehicles to charge fully in 4-10 hours.
This has fostered a wave of partnerships in recent years between retailers and CPOs, which have been further galvanised by targeted and meaningful loyalty schemes that seek to bring EV drivers to their car parks.
For example, automotive brand Kia partnered with EV charging platform &Charge in 2023, allowing customers to collect EV charging points when shopping at participating UK retailers including Waterstones, Boots and B&Q. The credits can then be redeemed at public EV charging stations.
In the US, EVgo has similarly expanded its proprietary coupon technology, EVgo Advantage, to select Cumberland Farms and Wawa locations as part of its loyalty programme. It provides EV owners with instant in-store promotions while they charge their EVs.
Such partnerships address a distinct opportunity for consumers to pair their everyday needs for EV charging and daily shopping. It also offers an opportunity to build extra value as cost-of-living challenges ensue. Meanwhile, retailers benefit from increased footfall and CPOs can further drive loyalty and build revenues.
Mobility brands look to appease their EV clients with reward schemes
Shared mobility and car rental companies have similarly looked to cater to rising EV demand with targeted and self-reinforcing loyalty schemes. According to the Euromonitor Voice of the Consumer: Mobility Survey, fielded January to February 2023, the share of respondents pointing out owning to sharing an EV has grown from 4.8% in 2020 to 9.8% as of 2023.
EV car sharing brand SPARK has engaged in delivering rewards for drivers who drive and charge their vehicles. For instance, customers receive 3 eGo points for every euro spent on trips, while 150 eGo points are provided for recharging a low-battery car. Points can later be redeemed towards a discounted or free ride in a SPARK car.
CPO Electrify America and major shared mobility provider Lyft partnered in 2023 providing Lyft drivers with discounted charging rates. The scheme operates on a tiered basis, with drivers receiving larger discounts when using the loyalty scheme more frequently. In addition, car rental firm Hertz and CPO EVgo teamed up to provide one year of discounted EV charging across the country when renting an EV vehicle and charging at an EVgo location.
As consumer priorities shift away from outright ownership, shared mobility companies and rental services are seeking to tap the growing market of climate-conscious consumers looking for sustainable mobility options that simultaneously build value through discounts and offers.
The software-defined era will push EV brands to go beyond traditional loyalty
Loyalty schemes in the automotive space are not new, with brands typically offering discounts towards servicing, maintenance and repairs, while others have developed referral incentives. However, in a rising era of software-defined vehicles, traditional loyalty schemes are becoming outdated.
This is paving the way for the rise of informal loyalty schemes – where user and product IDs are connected, allowing the automotive brand to identify the customer and the product or service being purchased. With the immense amount of data being created on driver habits and preferences, the opportunities to develop and scale personalised loyalty features are immense through informal loyalty.
For example, each Tesla driver is automatically tracked with the vehicle’s in-car computer delivering data and insights to the company on how the vehicle is being driven, the in-car features being used, and its location, among other things. BYD also recently partnered with NVIDIA to build the next generation of software-defined vehicles, which will allow the brand to scale its tech capabilities in the loyalty space.
This puts EV brands closer to their clients with more touch points – something which has traditionally challenged the automotive industry in the past.
With 70% of new passenger vehicles expected to be electric by 2040, mobility brands are looking to move in early and capture their customers. Building personalised, unique and engaging reward schemes will be vital as companies identify strategic partnerships and leverage new technologies to scale loyalty.
Learn more about loyalty in our report, Building Value Through Loyalty Strategies in Mobility.