How Parking Garages Can Monetize EV Charging for Sustainability & Profit

As the number of electric vehicles on Australian roads continues to grow, parking facility owners face both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge: adapting existing infrastructure to meet new demands. The opportunity: creating new revenue streams through EV charging services. In my work consulting with several parking garage and lot operators across Australia, I've seen firsthand how this transition is playing out—some businesses are thriving while others struggle to adapt. Whether you manage a commercial car park, own a residential parking facility, or oversee a municipal parking structure, understanding how to effectively monetize EV charging can transform what was once just a storage space for vehicles into a profitable service hub that supports sustainability goals while improving your bottom line.

What is EV Charging Monetization in Parking Facilities

EV charging monetization refers to the strategic implementation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure within parking stations to generate additional revenue streams while supporting the transition to cleaner transportation. This concept emerged in Australia around 2015 as early EV adoption began to gain momentum, but has accelerated dramatically since 2020 as both corporate sustainability mandates and consumer demand have intensified. Unlike traditional parking operations that generate revenue solely through hourly or monthly parking fees, EV charging monetization creates a secondary service offering that can generate revenue throughout a vehicle's entire parking duration. According to Daniel Battaglia in his book Parking Made Easy: Making Life Easier, "Cities are increasingly looking to decrease car numbers, opening up spaces instead for social areas, encouraging cycling and other more environmentally friendly approaches to transportation." This broader shift toward sustainable urban mobility creates the perfect context for parking operators to position themselves not just as providers of space, but as enablers of cleaner transportation infrastructure.

How EV Charging Monetization Works

Implementing profitable electric vehicle charging in parking spots follows a straightforward but strategic process. The typical implementation includes:

According to the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, successful implementations typically allocate 5-10% of spaces for EV charging initially, with infrastructure ready to scale to 25% within five years. The most profitable operations utilize dynamic pricing that adjusts based on time of day, demand, and local electricity rates. For instance, charging might cost more during peak hours but offer discounts during off-peak periods when electricity costs are lower. Integration with existing parking management systems helps create EV-friendly facilities that maximize revenue while providing a seamless user experience.

Benefits and Advantages

The advantages of monetizing EV charging in car parks and parking facilities extend far beyond simple revenue generation. From a financial perspective, recent market research indicates that properly implemented EV charging can increase per-space revenue by 25-40% compared to traditional parking alone. This creates a significant competitive advantage in attracting and retaining customers, particularly the high-value demographic that typically owns electric vehicles. EV owners tend to have higher discretionary income and spend more at adjacent retail businesses during charging sessions.

From a sustainability standpoint, offering EV charging supports corporate ESG goals and can help facility owners qualify for green building certifications and government incentives. The University of Sydney's Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies notes that Parking facilities that offer EV charging services typically see a 15-20% increase in overall utilization rates compared to conventional facilities in similar locations, suggesting that charging infrastructure creates a powerful differentiator in the market. For property owners, this increased utilization directly translates to higher occupancy rates and improved return on investment for what is often underutilized real estate, while simultaneously supporting Australia's transition to cleaner transportation.

Challenges and Limitations

Despite its potential, implementing EV charging monetization in parking spaces that are future-proofed for electric vehicles presents several significant challenges. The most immediate barrier is the substantial upfront capital investment—installing a single DC fast charger can cost $25,000-$50,000 when including necessary electrical upgrades. For many parking operators, particularly those with older facilities, insufficient electrical capacity represents another major hurdle, often requiring costly transformer upgrades or new service connections.

Operational complexities can also prove challenging. Unlike traditional parking, EV charging requires active management, maintenance of technical equipment, and customer support for charging-related issues. Many facility managers lack the technical expertise to troubleshoot charging problems, potentially leading to customer dissatisfaction. Additionally, the rapidly evolving technology landscape creates risks of premature obsolescence—today's charging equipment may not support tomorrow's faster charging standards. The current fragmentation of charging networks and payment systems further complicates implementation, as users increasingly expect seamless access across multiple charging networks rather than needing separate accounts for each parking facility they visit. These factors collectively create significant complexity for parking operators considering EV charging monetization.

Real-World Success Stories

Several Australian implementations demonstrate the potential of EV charging monetization when executed thoughtfully. Broadway Sydney shopping center converted 5% of their parking spaces and spots to EV charging in 2022, implementing a tiered pricing model that offers free charging for the first hour (with paid parking) followed by a competitive per-kWh rate thereafter. This approach generated approximately $175,000 in additional annual revenue while increasing average visitor dwell time by 32 minutes—directly benefiting the center's retailers with increased spending. Their implementation costs were partially offset by a sustainability grant from the local council.

In Brisbane, a commercial office building's parking facility installed 22 Level 2 chargers across their 400-space garage, achieving 78% utilization rates within six months of deployment. By offering bundled monthly parking and charging packages for tenants and hourly charging for visitors, they created a consistent revenue stream while differentiating their building from competitors. According to the property manager, "The ROI was achieved in just 18 months, far exceeding our initial projections of 3 years, primarily because tenant acquisition and retention improved significantly once the charging infrastructure was in place."

Melbourne Airport's long-term parking implemented a sophisticated smart charging system that balances load across 50 charging stations, automatically adjusting charging rates based on grid conditions and flight schedules. This system maximizes revenue during peak periods while reducing demand charges during high electricity rate periods, creating both environmental and financial benefits.

Future Trends and Alternatives

When comparing approaches to EV integration in parking stations and garages, several distinct models are emerging. The current dominant model involves fixed charging stations permanently installed in designated spaces, but wireless charging embedded in parking surfaces is gaining traction for its convenience and reduced maintenance, despite higher upfront costs. Mobile charging solutions—portable chargers that can be deployed to different parking spaces—offer greater flexibility but lower charging speeds and higher operational complexity.

Looking ahead, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology represents perhaps the most transformative potential development. This allows bidirectional energy flow where parked EVs can supply electricity back to the building or grid during peak demand periods, potentially creating an entirely new revenue stream for parking operators through grid services. According to projections from the global smart parking market research, which valued the market at $8.5 billion in 2023 with expectations to reach $48.3 billion by 2033, integrated EV charging will become a standard feature in premium parking facilities by 2027, with 60% of all new construction including charging infrastructure from the outset. This trajectory suggests parking operators who invest now will establish competitive advantages that will be increasingly difficult for late adopters to overcome as the market matures.

Conclusion: Seizing the Electric Opportunity

The integration of EV charging into parking operations represents one of the most promising opportunities for facility owners to increase revenue while supporting sustainability goals. As we've explored, successful implementations balance upfront investment considerations with strategic pricing models that meet the needs of both occasional and regular users. While challenges exist in electrical capacity, technical expertise, and evolving standards, the case studies demonstrate that these hurdles can be overcome with thoughtful planning and implementation. The future clearly points toward increased integration of charging, energy storage, and potentially bidirectional power flow that could transform parking facilities into genuine energy hubs within our communities. For parking facility owners and operators, the question is no longer whether to invest in EV charging infrastructure, but how quickly and strategically to implement it to maximize competitive advantage in an increasingly electrified transportation ecosystem. Sign up free at Parking Made Easy to connect with property owners already successfully monetizing EV charging and learn from their experiences as you develop your own implementation strategy.