Susan Finn - Director of ZEV Ltd

Where would electric vehicle owners be without the cables to charge them? We spoke with Susan Finn, director at ZEV Ltd, Smart Home Charge's EV charging cable supplier, to talk about new developments at the company and what's coming next.

ZEV Ltd has been operating since 2003 and started out supplying cables for the first electric motorbikes, but has since expanded to supply charging solutions for a wider range of vehicles, including cars, light commercial vehicles and even electric boats.

The business switched to producing its own cables in the UK in 2021 and has seen significant growth this year, following on from a successful partnership with Ford, which saw over 35,000 lead sets supplied with the Kuga plug-in hybrid.

Finn said the decision to switch production to the UK was driven by wanting to have even greater control over quality, produce a more sustainable product by significantly reducing the number of miles products were travelling, as well as an aim to support British business.

Every ZEV Ltd cable is made to ISO 9001 quality standards

"Our most popular products are the 5M and 10M straight or coiled cables which come in either a grey or hi-vis option, however because we manufacture here in the UK, we can make virtually any length, specification or colour to suit exact requirements, that's what makes us so unique to our customers".

A recent exciting development for ZEV Ltd has been the ability for the business to reduce prices for its latest EV charging cable.

This has been made possible as a result of increased demand, which has led to higher volumes of production and greater economies of scale.

It means ZEV Ltd can be more competitive on price, particularly within the fleet market, but it can still offer a higher quality UK-manufactured product.

Finn said: "It's never been about a race to the bottom for us, which results in poor quality and service, no customers or businesses want this.

"We've been as competitive as possible with prices and that can be a tough challenge when you're manufacturing in the UK, but the quality is just so much better, it's definitely worth the small price difference."

ZEV also works with specialist companies for drivers without off street parking – new solutions that go under or over the pavement require specialist length or configuration cables.

ZEV works with these companies to support new innovations that mean EVs are accessible to a wider customer base, particularly those who might have a commercial vehicle allocated as their vehicle but nowhere to charge at home.

Missing cables

Cables can be the first thing that goes missing when EVs change hands.

They either get lost or for some reason they just don't end up with the next customer. One of Finn's top tips is to make sure that when you're buying an EV, you know what cables will be supplied and if they are going to be the type of cables that suit your needs.

Finn said: "The used EV market is growing really quickly and so it's another area we expect an increase in demand.

"We have several used EV car dealer customers that tell us that around 90% of EVs that come into stock are without their original cables.

"Many people think if they buy an EV they would have to go back to the main dealer of that particular brand to buy a replacement cable, but this can be a much more expensive and time-consuming process, ZEV cables are a much more cost effective, and reliable option and usually quicker to purchase through resellers such as Smart Home Charge."

The wider business is also a distributor for the Juice Booster 2 which enables EV drivers to charge their EV, up to 22kW, from virtually any power source – it offers over 20 different adaptors, from CEE three phase to standard three pin, so drivers can charge at destination car parks, building sites, caravan parks, marinas and hotels – all of which have existing infrastructure of commando architecture.

Finn readily admits that her family are "crazy for EVs" with everyone of driving age in a zero-emission vehicle, with a Tesla, BMW i3s and two Renault Zoes.

Two of my daughters work for luxury automotive manufacturers and are passionate about the development of EVs in the supercar market.

The Finn fleet is powered by two 7.4kW 32A domestic home chargers, as well as a wall mounted Juice Booster, which means ZEV's products are in constant use and regularly tested by those running the business.

Trolley charger

ZEV Ltd has also just launched its portable (on wheels), plug and charge, DC rapid charger for the fleet market.

The DC Trolley Charger can provide up to 30kW through CCS connectivity to charge a car, truck, boat, bus or any other electric powered utility vehicle, it simply plugs into an onsite 43/63A commando supply and it's ready to charge.

This product is aimed at the commercial vehicle sector, specifically for logistics, breakdown, building sites and marine businesses that are increasingly switching to electric vans, trucks and boats.

Finn says: "The DC Trolley rapid charger is really flexible because you can move it around a depot, even putting it in the back of a car.

"Because the market is evolving so quickly, a lot of depots and businesses don't have the infrastructure in place to support their growing electric vehicle fleets to charge rapidly and get their electric vehicles back on the move.

"Investing in static infrastructure also presents a bit of a risk as the technology is improving all the time and a company that is growing might have smaller premises so might not want to invest in rapid chargers when they might soon be planning a move.

"The Mobile DC trolley charger is also available at a lower cost than static infrastructure, so we think we'll see further growth with this side of the business as fleets look at costs, investment and flexibility."

The Mobile DC trolley charger requires a CEE 63A socket (3P+N+PE), which is usually available at commercial properties, to directly connect and be ready to start charging vehicles.

Support for EV drivers

She said: "I get really frustrated that drivers and fleet managers in the UK are trying to make the transition to EVs yet are faced with so much conflicting information.

"You need to be able to support your customer and help them make the right choice and personally I'd like to see that level of education and support increase at the point of sale at dealerships as EV sales continue to grow further."

"If you get to the point where you're ready to get into an EV but you're then buying or supplied with a cable product that's not up to the job, it's not a good story.

"People aren't going to stick with switching to EVs if they're having bad experiences with the products they're using and so that was another motivating factor to focus on quality and reliability with UK production."

As the EV market gradually moves from the early adopter phase to reach more mass market customers, Finn wants to see even more effort, particularly at the point of sale, around education for customers.

She believes dealerships are positioned as the experts when selling EVs, but said many could be doing a better job around education with how to run an EV.

Finn said: "Customer service is something we take really seriously at ZEV Ltd; we won't just supply a product and then you'll never hear from us again. We want to help as much as we can around knowledge and support that our customers and resellers might need.

"We also work with credible CPOs such as Osprey and Fastned to understand the user journey in terms of charging – phone to car/car to charger, we help our customers with basic information such as understanding the difference between CCS and AC, standard data for us, but a whole new language for a new EV driver.

"Lastly, we are proud to support other organisations and charities that are working hard to promote better air quality within our towns and cities, a big part of which is the transition away from fossil fuels to greener electric powered transport."