AM Live 2023 saw industry experts gather to discuss the imperative task of creating a seamless and unified digital ecosystem for electric vehicles (EVs).

Currently, EV sales are dominated by the fleet and new car market, but there will be a shift towards more retail customers and used EVs in time. This will mean a much tighter window to organise everything around charging the vehicle, particularly if the customer has off-street parking and is looking to reduce costs by installing a home charger and switching their home energy tariff.

The session explored how the current customer journey for EVs can be fragmented, particularly with post-sale support including arranging a home charger, explaining public charging infrastructure and help with switching to smart home energy tariffs and reduce EV running costs as much as possible.

The insights shared by the AM LIve panellists underscored the need for a seamless end-to-end journey which could only be delivered through close collaboration between automotive and energy stakeholders.

The session was steered by Raj Lyons Chohan, chief executive of Affinity EV, and panellists included Andrew Mouat, head of smart mobility at Scottish Power, Euan Cameron, marketing director for Peter Vardy, and Jacqui Barker, global OEM director for Keyloop, who shared their insights on the challenges, opportunities and strategies for delivering an enhanced EV customer experience.

The session kicked off with Chohan who said the automotive industry was undergoing a transformative shift in the automotive industry, which was witnessing the convergence of the automotive and energy sectors.

He said the journey from early adopters to the early majority now requires a strategic approach to education, information dissemination and guidance to help the customer navigate the dual journey of both purchasing and owning an electric vehicle in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Euan Cameron at AM100 motor retailer Peter Vardy Group highlighted current market dynamics, pointing out the significant increase in EV supply which worryingly contrasted with a decreasing number of actual leads, stressing the importance of addressing the difficulty of conversion following that initial surge in inquiries.