How to plan fleet charging infrastructure: a 6-step guide
You can plan fleet charging infrastructure in six steps: capture driving profiles and dwell times, decide where vehicles charge, size the charge points, check grid connection and load management, organise operation and set up billing. The key is to start from actual energy demand – not just the number of vehicles.
This guide brings together the main planning questions and links to detailed articles. It is written for fleet managers, facility managers and leadership teams electrifying their fleet step by step.
Why does planning matter?
Charge points are a long-term investment. Too few cause queues and expensive public charging. Too many, or too powerful, tie up budget and can trigger costly grid upgrades. New legal requirements add to this: from 2027, stricter quotas apply to company car parks under the GEIG.
Step 1: What are your driving profiles and dwell times?
Start with data: how many kilometres does each vehicle drive per day, when does it return and how long does it park? This gives you daily energy demand and the available charging window. Telematics or logbook data help. See planning electrification with fleet data.
Step 2: Where should vehicles charge?
Not every fleet needs everything on site. Many companies combine three charging locations:
Location | Suitable for | Consider |
|---|---|---|
Site / depot | vehicles parked on site overnight or during the day | grid capacity, load management, access |
Home | company cars parked at employees' homes | separate metering, reimbursement, car policy |
Public | long distance, field service, exceptions | charging card, prices, consolidated invoice |
The mix determines how many charge points you really need on site. Company cars that mostly charge at home take load off the depot. Read more in our home, work and public charging strategy.
Step 3: How many charge points and how much power?
Energy demand and dwell time determine the charging power you need. A vehicle parked for ten hours overnight usually manages with AC charging. Short windows between shifts point to DC. Whether you need one charge point per vehicle or vehicles can share depends on return times.
AC charging: lower purchase cost, ideal for long dwell times
DC charging: fast, useful for short windows or multi-shift operations
Mixed concept: AC for base load, a few DC points for peaks
Detailed guidance is in sizing charge points for your business and, for van fleets, depot charging for electric vans.
Step 4: Is your grid connection sufficient?
Total charging power has to fit your site's connection capacity. Load management distributes available power dynamically so you can run more charge points without overloading the connection. Note the notification duty under section 19 NAV: chargers must be reported to the grid operator before commissioning, and above 12 kVA total rated power per installation prior approval is required.
Read more in grid connection for business charging infrastructure.
Step 5: Who operates and maintains the charge points?
Charge points need operation: software updates, fault fixing, inspections and spare parts. Before installation, clarify who handles these tasks and which response times apply. Also plan backup capacity so vehicles stay operational during a fault. See operating and maintaining charging infrastructure and charger outages at the depot.
Step 6: How is charging billed?
Billing matters as soon as several user groups charge. Company cars, employees' private cars and visitors are treated differently for tax. Employees charging at work is tax-free under section 3 no. 46 EStG if provided on top of salary – see tax-free workplace charging. Assign sessions to vehicles, drivers and cost centres so finance can work cleanly.
Checklist: planning charging infrastructure
Driving profiles, daily mileage and dwell times recorded per vehicle
Charging locations defined: site, home, public
Energy demand and charging power per site calculated
AC, DC or mixed concept chosen
Grid connection checked, load management planned
Grid operator notified or approval obtained
GEIG obligations from 2027 checked
Operation, maintenance and backup defined
Access and billing per user group set up
What are common planning mistakes?
Some planning mistakes come up again and again. Knowing them saves time and money:
Planning charge points by vehicle count instead of energy demand and dwell time
Checking the grid connection only after ordering hardware
Leaving out load management and retrofitting it expensively later
Ignoring home and public charging, although company cars charge a lot there
Not covering operation and maintenance in a contract
No reserve for outages or additional vehicles
How do you approach step-by-step electrification?
Few fleets switch every vehicle at once. A phased plan makes sense: start with vehicles whose driving profile fits best and plan cable routes for later expansion from the start. That way you avoid opening trenches again for every phase. After a few months, real charging data show whether your assumptions hold and where to adjust.
Tip: document every planning assumption – daily mileage, dwell times, charging power – with a date. In later phases you can then trace why a decision was made and compare it with real charging data.
How StromNow handles the planning
With StromNow Depot Charging we analyse your fleet, driving profiles and dwell times and plan charge points to match your energy demand. We choose AC, DC or combined concepts and handle installation, operation and load management. Afterwards you see charging at your site, at home and on the road in one platform.
Start with the free fleet analysis or a 20-minute demo.
Plan your charging infrastructure – book a demo
Sources and further information
As of 20 October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice. The cover image is an AI-generated illustrative image.
Frequently asked questions about planning charging infrastructure
How do I plan charging infrastructure for my fleet?
In six steps: capture driving profiles and dwell times, define charging locations, size charge points, check grid connection and load management, organise operation and set up billing.
Do I need one charge point per vehicle?
Not necessarily. Whether vehicles can share depends on return times, dwell times and energy demand. Load management helps charge more vehicles with the available power.
Is AC charging enough for a fleet?
With long dwell times such as overnight, AC charging is often enough. DC charging makes sense for short windows or multi-shift operations.
Do I need to register charge points with the grid operator?
Yes. Under section 19 NAV, chargers must be reported before commissioning. Above 12 kVA total rated power per installation, prior approval is required.
How long does planning take?
It depends on the site, especially the grid connection and coordination with the grid operator. Start early and clarify the power question first.