Leveraging Customer Experience for Competitive Differentiation in Electric Vehicle DC Fast Charging Services
Sinitsina, Anna-Eveliina (2025)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025051210771
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025051210771
Tiivistelmä
This Bachelor’s thesis explores how customer experience can serve as a basis for competitive differentiation in the rapidly evolving sector of electric vehicle (EV) direct current (DC) fast charging services. As the market matures and core technical capabilities among charging networks begin to converge, the quality and consistency of service experiences are emerging as increasingly critical factors in shaping user satisfaction, attitudes, and brand loyalty.
The study focuses on developing a comprehensive understanding of user perceptions and expectations in Finland, Germany, and Norway, and evaluating how strategic customer experience management can enhance competitiveness in this context. The scope of the thesis is delimited to public DC fast charging services rated at 50 kW power output and above, excluding home, workplace, and destination-based AC charging.
The thesis combines theoretical analysis with an empirical study. The conceptual framework draws insights from customer experience, strategic marking, branding, and service design literature. It includes a benchmarking analysis of four European charging point operators: IONITY, K-Lataus, Fastned, and Recharge, to explore strategic service differentiation approaches. The empirical research phase consists of a quantitative survey, conducted using a web-based platform. A non-probability sampling approach was used, gathering 77 qualified responses from battery electric vehicles users across the three countries. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and comparative methods.
The findings reveal that users prioritize core functionality features such as charger availability, price, and charging speed in decision-making, but increasingly value reliability, comfort, and ease of use across physical and digital service touchpoints. Overall satisfaction regarding the current state of fast charging service offerings across the countries is moderate, with consistent dissatisfaction expressed over pricing clarity and site amenities. Users expressed stronger brand trust toward specialist charging point operators offering transparent, reliable, and well-integrated services. The study concludes that customer experience, when strategically managed to align with user priorities and supported by ecosystem collaboration, constitutes a viable and increasingly important source of competitive differentiation in EV fast charging services.
The study contributes to a limited body of research on the strategic role of customer experience in EV fast charging, offering practical insights for service providers and future academic inquiry.
The study focuses on developing a comprehensive understanding of user perceptions and expectations in Finland, Germany, and Norway, and evaluating how strategic customer experience management can enhance competitiveness in this context. The scope of the thesis is delimited to public DC fast charging services rated at 50 kW power output and above, excluding home, workplace, and destination-based AC charging.
The thesis combines theoretical analysis with an empirical study. The conceptual framework draws insights from customer experience, strategic marking, branding, and service design literature. It includes a benchmarking analysis of four European charging point operators: IONITY, K-Lataus, Fastned, and Recharge, to explore strategic service differentiation approaches. The empirical research phase consists of a quantitative survey, conducted using a web-based platform. A non-probability sampling approach was used, gathering 77 qualified responses from battery electric vehicles users across the three countries. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and comparative methods.
The findings reveal that users prioritize core functionality features such as charger availability, price, and charging speed in decision-making, but increasingly value reliability, comfort, and ease of use across physical and digital service touchpoints. Overall satisfaction regarding the current state of fast charging service offerings across the countries is moderate, with consistent dissatisfaction expressed over pricing clarity and site amenities. Users expressed stronger brand trust toward specialist charging point operators offering transparent, reliable, and well-integrated services. The study concludes that customer experience, when strategically managed to align with user priorities and supported by ecosystem collaboration, constitutes a viable and increasingly important source of competitive differentiation in EV fast charging services.
The study contributes to a limited body of research on the strategic role of customer experience in EV fast charging, offering practical insights for service providers and future academic inquiry.