What’s An EVPreneur’s Important First Step?

The electric vehicle (EV) industry is growing around the globe at an astonishing rate. According to Bloomberg, “Global sales of internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicles have fallen each year since 2017 thanks to electric cars taking up a growing share.” ICE vehicle sales have dropped 23% since 2017, with electric vehicle sales growth increasing. Global EV sales made up 20% of new passenger cars sold in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023. In the U.S., it’s easy for people to think the EV revolution isn’t as huge as it is, with EVs expected to reach 10% of vehicle deliveries in 2024, according to Cox Automotive. EV sales in China made up over 35% of all vehicles sold in 2023. American and European OEMs are very worried when they see Chinese EVs like the BYD Seagull, a compact EV with a starting price of approximately $11,400.

Ten percent is still a huge number when you consider that the average American is not ready to drive full electric yet. There are many reasons for this, most notably the EV adoption barriers. Barriers include a lack of charging stations, compatibility issues with NACS (Tesla) vs. CCS (non-Tesla) charging connectors, high EV prices, charging station reliability, and more. The early days of the U.S. EV revolution were like a “Wild West,” with little government regulation and funding. This lack of support and regulation caused the barriers. The problems are being addressed by the government now, with billions in funding released over the last few years. Most notably, 2021’s $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which included the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. A Pilot station in Ohio opened in December 2023 as the first NEVI-funded EV charging station.

The EV Industry Offers Incredible Opportunity With Federal Funding

With such a fast-growing industry, business opportunities abound. Scrappy startups are entering the industry at an amazing rate. In the charging arena, new companies are vying for federal funding. One example is TeraWatt Infrastructure’s I-10 electric corridor project application, in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), which will receive a $63.8 million federal grant. The project will help construct two medium- and heavy-duty commercial electric vehicle (EV) charging centers in Lordsburg and Vado, New Mexico. U.S. Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant program is the source of the funding. It was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Private Funding is Significant

Private funding in the industry is growing significantly as well. One example is Recurrent, the leader in used EV analytics, which closed a $16-million Series A investment to add transparency for EV batteries and car values in the used EV market in January 2024. Recurrent’s reports answer common questions for used EV shoppers. The reports examine an EV’s history data and range data, comparing the data to thousands of other EVs in Recurrent’s database. A recent study by iSeeCars.com revealed that used EV market prices are down 33.7 percent, creating screaming deals for used EV shoppers.

Incredible Excitement in the Industry Spurs New Business Growth

All of this funding and excitement is prompting new business owners to enter the industry at astounding speed. There are fantastic opportunities in every area of the industry. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated that the U.S. will need 28 million charging ports by 2030 to refuel the 33 million light-duty EVs that could be on the road by then. That means any charging-related new business has vast opportunities.

Electric Vehicle (EV) + entrepreneur= EVpreneur

An EVpreneur is a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses in the fast-growing electric vehicle industry.

EV Business Ideas

Here are just a few EV business ideas. There are many more!

Build electric car charging stations

Become an electric car battery refurbisher

Start an EV mechanical engineering course to train technicians

Start an EV charging repair business

Develop software solutions to manage electric vehicle fleets

Develop energy storage systems that utilize repurposed EV batteries

Start an electric vehicle repair shop

Offer specialized roadside assistance and emergency services for EVs

Start a rental service for electric bikes and scooters

Start an electric car repair and diagnostic center

Start a blog, YouTube channel, or podcast focused on electric vehicles

Offer EV consultancy services to urban planners and local governments

Start EV public awareness campaigns

Become an electric car power bank manufacturer

Become an EV charger distributor

Create electric vehicle tours for scenic locations

Start an electric car dealership

Offer an EV charging-sharing service

Provide mobile repair and maintenance services for EVs

Organize workshops and seminars to educate individuals and businesses about EVs

Create mobile apps that provide real-time EV data

Start an EV rideshare or rental business

Start a business for responsible recycling of electric vehicle components

Become an EV conversion shop

Start an EV customization business

Start a portable EV charging business

Start an EV online publication

Create a business that allows battery swapping for electric vehicles

Manufacture aftermarket components for electric vehicles

Provide consultancy services to those looking to transition to electric vehicles

Start a leasing service for electric vehicles

Ok, I’m Convinced. What’s Next?

So now you’re excited and ready to start your EV industry business. Where do you start? There are a whole lot of things to think about, depending on the size of the business, and much more. This is where EVinfo.net comes in. We can’t help you if you want to invest millions and become the next Elon Musk to compete with Tesla. For that, you’d want to hire the upper echelons of marketing consultants. EVinfo.net specializes in small businesses.

What’s The First Step?

The first step may surprise you. It’s a mistake commonly made by new business owners, not realizing they should do this first, before anything else. Why? Because if you invest lots of time in other parts of the business planning, you may realize a good portion of it will need to be redone, depending on what’s available.

The Website Domain is First

In 2024, a website is absolutely crucial for any business, not just the EV industry business. Not only do you need a website, it needs to be SEO-optimized, attractive, user-friendly, and easy to navigate. It will be the hub of all your business promotions, with all social media, advertising, and other promotions pointing to it. It is your most important marketing tool. If it’s substandard, you may be losing more business for you than gaining.

With the advent of WordPress and other easy site-building tools, it’s incredibly easy to set up a site these days. But the first step is the domain name. You don’t want to spend time on business planning, choosing a clever business name, etc, without checking which domains are available and reserving the right one. Reserving a good domain name should be your very first step.

Dot Com, Net, And More

In the past, there were only 22 top-level domains (TLDs) or domain extensions available, such as .com, .net, and .org. The ICANN organization, responsible for recording domain names, realized that there was a dwindling supply of ideal TLDs and found a remedy for that by adding new domain extensions. This provides better and more creative ways to create a domain that is helpful for your business or website. A list of the top-level domains by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is maintained at the Root Zone Database. IANA also oversees the approval process for new proposed top-level domains for ICANN. As of March 2021, the IANA root database includes 1589 TLDs.

The .com domain is the one everyone is most familiar with and is the most desired. However, these have been largely bought up and reserved by now. Some useful new TLDs for the EV industry are .auto, .car, .cars, .media, .marketing, .news, .parts, .racing, .repair, .taxi, and .tires. If you’re wondering about the .ev domain, it already exists, but not for electric vehicles. Ev is the top-level internet domain for the Union of Everett’s civilian access internet, assigned in 2003. Civilians can access government, education, and organization websites, or Everetti versions of websites are marked with .ev.

Ok, I have My Website Domain Chosen, Or I Already Have a Website. What’s Next?

Getting your EV industry business noticed is what EVinfo.net does. See our services. We offer freelance writing, influencer marketing, LinkedIn optimization, and freelance marketing. My LinkedIn account has over 10,000 highly engaged followers in the EV industry. If your website is already up, we recommend a 1,000-word sponsored article on EVinfo.net to get the ball rolling. This article, written by me as an EV industry influencer, offers a valuable testimonial for your business. This article is evergreen (meaning it can be used and continually promoted for years to come.) It exposes your business to my audience and beyond in a tremendous way.

If you’d like to build up your LinkedIn audience and get lots more engagement (likes, shares, and comments) on your posts, sign up for my 30-minute LinkedIn optimization phone call. I’ll share with you all the secrets that have helped me rise to the top of the industry in a very short time. LinkedIn is the leading B2B social media channel.