The illusion of ownership: buy vs build in EV charging

With AI breaking down traditional software barriers, the idea of creating your own EV charging platform has never been more tempting. Vibe coding is rapidly taking over, but at what cost? Building feels empowering: you dictate every feature, shape every experience, and stamp your name on the product. But here’s the hard truth: owning it all doesn’t always mean winning.

Buy or build?

This question inevitably arises in every EV charging business. The decision depends on many factors: time management, cost, customisation, integration, scalability, and reliability. Fundamentally, it’s about whether to purchase an external platform or develop your own software from scratch.

We started E-Flux in 2017 by using an existing solution. Soon after, we ran into the limitations of this solution and realised we could not provide the end-to-end user experience that our customers deserve. Given the state of the market, we knew we needed to build our own platform and we did, though not without facing years of challenges along the way. The goal has always been to create the smoothest possible experience for both operators and EV drivers.

Road was founded with a mission to make EV transactions effortless for everyone, because existing solutions simply did not measure up. What started as a focus on charge station management has grown into a platform serving over 250.000 customers. With E-Flux, we now offer a complete solution for operators of any size.

The real challenge of building

While building your own solution might seem like the path to total control, the reality is far more complex. You’re not just creating software — you are constructing an operational nervous system that needs to work flawlessly around the clock and adapt to constant changes. If you’re managing a large customer base, your top priority should be keeping them satisfied and listening to their feedback to ensure they have every reason to stay. Every action you take should revolve around their needs. This means making sure everything runs smoothly to reach the end goal: a satisfied, and therefore growing, customer base. In order to reach this, everything has to work as it is supposed to, otherwise you are giving potential customers a reason to look elsewhere.

Building a full-scale EV platform means handling everything from transactions and VAT to roaming and fraud detection. Billing, in particular, is a challenge: you need a flexible, real-time engine that supports different pricing models (per kWh, per minute, idle time, dynamic tariffs) with absolute reliability and legal compliance. One missed regulation, one security oversight, and you are not just behind: you’re exposed.

Tax regulations and VAT compliance are moving targets. Any missteps can lead to significant legal and financial risk. Building a robust, compliant, and scalable platform is a long-term commitment. At Road, it took years of dedicated effort to get it right, even with our focus on solving these industry problems, we continually invest in engineering and financial compliance to keep everything running smoothly.

Even with all of that covered, it is important to understand that there is a constant incremental improvement of everything you are working with. New charge station models, new payment terminals, new roaming connections, new EMS integrations, new billing patterns, new capabilities for charge station monetisation and so much more. Aside from just building a platform, you have to make sure it stays up to date with every development there is within the market.

The minute you think you’re done, the market shifts. Again.

Why do companies want to build?

Building offers unmatched flexibility and differentiation, but it also means facing relentless complexity: compliance across countries, secure payments, fraud prevention, VAT and legal risk, always-on infrastructure, and keeping pace with a market that never stands still.

The real question is: what do you need? Are you looking for a system that works out of the box with speed and efficiency, or one you can fully tailor to your needs, knowing that custom development can take years to perfect? And, do you have the time to wait that long?

Three critical questions before building your own

Can you really keep up with global compliance, while your competitors race ahead?

Expanding into new countries means navigating complex and ever-changing regulations in each market. This requires dedicated resources and expertise.

Will you invest in relentless security and fraud prevention, or risk falling behind as the threats multiply?

As charging infrastructure becomes more digital and integrated with payments, cybersecurity and fraud prevention are crucial. Building a strong security team is essential and requires ongoing investment.

When every resource is precious, do you really want to spend it on plumbing, or on the customer experience that defines your brand?

With limited resources, you must decide: will you focus on building and maintaining the underlying system, or on delivering the best possible experience for your customers?

Lessons from Road

Road was founded to address a clear gap in the market: a universal platform to connect installers and end-users. But like any significant project, it faced many challenges, especially as we scaled across multiple countries. Reliable performance, legal compliance, and seamless user experience require continual investment and dedicated teams. For example, we maintain a team focused solely on financial infrastructure to ensure reliability and legal compliance. Achieving 99.99% uptime was the result of years of work, not a quick win. It takes a dedicated team - including skilled engineers and product managers - to ensure everything runs smoothly at all times, always keeping customer convenience and value at the forefront.

Focus on what matters

Building from scratch might promise unlimited flexibility, but it’s a trap lined with years of hidden costs, endless complexity, and serious business risk. When you buy, you’re free to double down on what really matters: your customers. All the while proven experts handle the heavy lifting: payments, compliance, infrastructure. For most operators, that’s the real divide: scraping by, or setting the pace as the market evolves. At the end of the day, the buy or build conversation is not just about tech stacks or budgets. It’s not even about ownership or control. It’s about one thing: competitive advantage. How are you going to win the EV market, and deliver more value to your customers than anyone else?