Aros Auto is your local Kia & Maxus dealer in Mälardalen. The family business started 40 years ago as a small car workshop in Västerås. Today they are one of Sweden's oldest and most modern Kia facilities. Their complete facility includes sales of passenger and transport cars, service workshop, sheet metal workshop, glass workshop, painting, reconditioning and tire workshop. Aros Auto is currently located in both Västerås and Enköping.
In close cooperation with Svensk Fordonsladdning AB, they are taking a step into the future and establishing both vehicle charging and an energy storage facility. At the time of writing, they have already established a DC charger in the form of a Delta Slim 50kW with two charging points, ten cTek AC chargers with 11 kW per outlet, a total of 20 charging points and already have 18 charging points on the property.
During Q4 2023, it is planned to complete the establishment of a Delta UFC400kW. When this is installed, Aros Auto will have a total of 42 charging points.
All vehicle chargers offer public charging and are connected to the Vourity payment system, which offers payment for charging with standard payment cards (Visa and Mastercard), Apple Pay, Google Pay, Swish, Vipps and many more.
The vehicle charging station that is being established has received 50% investment support from Klimatklivet - a successful application process that Svensk Fordonsladdning has carried out on behalf of Aros Auto.
In connection with the extensive establishment of vehicle charging, an energy storage facility is also being established where the size of the battery is 1075 kWh and has 500 kW output power. The investment is made partly to relieve the existing grid subscription and to cut power peaks and act as a backup via UPS. The energy storage enables and secures power to the charging stations at high load. It will also operate by acting on the support market with flex services against Svenska Kraftnät.
When Svensk Fordonsladdning AB established itself at Aros Auto, we took the opportunity to ask the company's CEO, Bengt Egnesund, a few questions about the extensive investment.
What proportion of the cars you sell today run on pure electric power and what proportion do you estimate it will be in five years?
- About 40% of cars sold today run on pure electricity. In five years, I think we will reach 80%. It could be even more if manufacturers succeed in developing cheaper technology or if more support is offered.
What is the demand for charging at your sites today compared to a few years ago?
- The difference is like night and day compared to a few years ago. Back then, we only had a few chargers and demand was not huge.
What made you take the step to establish investing in vehicle charging?
- We had an internal need for charging and then we are very interested in technology. We always want to be at the forefront of development.
You combine your charging site with an energy storage facility - what was the main reason for this?
- A bit like the previous question and that we can also support the electricity grid, cope with and cut power peaks and run so-called island operation if the electricity grid goes down. We also have a large solar cell plant on the roof so on a normal sunny day we can run full production even if the grid is down.
Not all car dealers are yet as much at the forefront as Aros Auto is with the investment in both vehicle charging and energy storage in combination. Do you see a future competitive advantage in this?
- Yes, it absolutely is. It shows a sustainable forward-looking approach and will also increase both customer influx and awareness of Aros Auto.
Your charging site will be public and offer public charging points. Do you see this becoming a sound business in the long term?
- We definitely think it will be a good deal in the long run even though there has been a lot of initial investment.
Aros Auto will have a complete operation and maintenance agreement for the charging stations via Svensk Fordonsladdning. How does this agreement make it easier for your own business?
- The operation and maintenance contract allows us to focus on what we do best - selling and repairing cars.
Svensk Fordonsladdning assisted in the grant application to Klimatklivet regarding the charging stations to be used as public charging points. Is it valuable to get help with the whole thing - from the grant application all the way to operation and maintenance?
- Yes, there is a lot of regulation and bureaucracy around these types of applications and grants. I would argue that it is absolutely crucial to get comprehensive help with this.
Do you have any experiences you would like to share? Perhaps to other companies looking to invest in charging infrastructure and energy storage?
- Get the help of a professional in the field and then start by investigating whether it is possible to expand the solution as you have planned. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
The brands for which you are an agent/dealer are at the forefront of electric vehicles. Is Aros Auto's extensive investment in charging infrastructure directly adjacent to the facilities also important to them?
- The general agency has some requirements, but they are not very far-reaching. They obviously think it is good to have proper charging facilities for the vehicles.
Why did you choose Svensk Fordonsladdning to implement this comprehensive solution?
- Svensk Fordonsladdning immediately gave a serious impression. They quickly came up with a sharp quote that did not contain a lot of reservations and fuzziness. They have also been consistently professional and helpful throughout the deal.
Kenneth Nilsson, Sales Manager at Svensk Fordonsladdning, explains:
- By supplementing a charging site with energy storage, several revenue streams are possible and the calculation becomes much more exciting. If you are interested in supplementing an existing charging site or your property with an energy storage, please contact Swedish Vehicle Charging experts and we will help you with your specific case.
For further contact or more information:
Kenneth Nilsson
Försäljningschef, Svensk Fordonsladdning AB
070-302 00 21
kenneth.nilsson@svenskfordonsladdning.se
Bengt Egnesund
VD, Aros Auto AB
021-448 04 92
bengt@arosauto.se
