The distribution of public charging stating for electric vehicles is very uneven globally, with the majority of them found in places where governments or utilities are supporting the transition to EVs, including China, the Netherlands, and California, which has thousands of public charging stations.
For buyers of Tesla cars, they have access to Tesla’s company funded supercharger network. However, in too many places, charger stations are scarce as hen’s teeth. The scarcity of charger stations won’t help people who need to drive further than the 200 miles that most electric cars can travel, and this doesn’t help people who don’t have a garage to plug in their cars.
The Associated Press quotes Graham Evans, an analyst with IHS Markit, who says, “Do we have what we need? The answer at the moment is, ‘No.'”
And this uneven distribution of charger stations can break the momentum in the sale of EVs. “Humans worst-case their purchases of automobiles. You have to prove to the consumer that they can drive across the country, even though they probably won’t,” says Pasquale Romano, the CEO of ChargePoint, one of the largest charging station providers in North America and Europe.
The market trends for EV charger stations
Technavio is a leading market research company with global coverage focusing on emerging market trends to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.
The EV charger market is expected to grow close to 44 percent during the period 2017 through 2021, according to the Technavio report. They point out the market is also evolving rapidly because of technology changes. The EV market’s growth, as more people turn to electric cars, is a factor behind the growth of the charger market.
At the same time, new innovations in technology have led to DC fast charging, wireless charging, and ultrafast EVSE that can fully charge an EV within 15-30 minutes. Some other improvements, including better GPS systems and the use of applications, make it easier for consumers to locate charging stations using their smartphones.
And research analysis shows it will take government incentives and subsidies towards infrastructure developments for EV chargers, probably one of the major factors that will have a positive impact on the growth of the market. To that end, BMW, Volkswagen, and ChargePoint have already opened almost 100 DC fast charging stations on the East and West coasts of the US.
Technavio lists the major players in the EV charger station market globally. They include AeroVironment, ChargePoint, Evatran, and Leviton. Other players include ABB, AddÉnergie, Bosch, Delphi Automotive, Efacec, EV-Box, Gill Industries, Mojo Mobility, Momentum Dynamics corporation, POD Point, Signet Electronic Systems, and WiTricity.
Interestingly, the report also concludes that utility providers utilizing EV charging bills through web portals, along with their support in using smart grid technology to reduce energy usage, will allow customers to shift charging to non-peak hours, creating a positive impact on the sales of EVs
The need for investment in the charger market
Lisa Jerram, an associate director with Navigant Research, says for the next several years, automakers, governments, and utilities are going to need to reach deep into their pockets because they will be primarily responsible for building a charger station infrastructure.
