Consolidation in the US EV Charge Point Market

In this article, David Patterson looks at the impact of the consolidation of the Charge Point Operator market and what it means for ambitious companies looking to acquire new networks.

The Charge Point Operator market is a young industry, and in the face of uncertainty of demand, changing government support (both federal and local), and a challenging investment environment, as we’ve seen in other innovative market categories going through these growing pains, there is consolidation happening in the market. 

We are seeing small operators unable to gain sufficient momentum and critical mass, being acquired, and major players reviewing their charger point portfolio and putting parts of their network into the market. 

For successful CPOs, acquiring a network of chargers is a fantastic opportunity to grow quickly, gain market share, or consolidate their position as a dominant player in the market. After all, acquisition is a well-worn path to category dominance that we’ve seen in other technology industries.

However, it’s an opportunity that comes with risk; there is a reason why these assets are on the market, and the acquirer needs to do thorough due diligence and do this quickly enough to grasp the opportunity or fold on a losing hand before it’s time to raise the stakes. 

We often discuss on this blog the complexity of finding new sites, examining dozens of data points that indicate the viability and feasibility of a new site. However, an existing site has even more variables to consider, around the equipment installed, the technology deployed, the current charging experience, and the local competitive environment.

This need to evaluate doesn’t stop at acquisition; once a network has been added to a CPO’s portfolio, the real work to make it a success starts. 

When the CEO and Founder of synergEV, Francisco (Paco) Aguirre. chatted to us on our recent webinar, he described the feeling of “swimming in data with no way to organize, analyze, and prioritize.” 

He needed a platform to review his newly acquired network, as he tried to sort the good sites from the bad, the equipment that needed upgrading, and how to prioritize and deploy the resources to have the network meet his company's standards and business needs. 

And this is not a problem for tomorrow. It is a “now” problem. Yes, this industry is young, but our research is showing that the opportunity of the low-hanging fruit of the immediately good sites is shrinking, as this industry finds its feet and the competition heats up. While the opportunity is still there, when panning for EV charging gold, there is a little more sand to sift.

This is, of course, where Dodona Analytics comes in; our platform can review a wide geographic area or an existing network and instantly find the nuggets of good sites, using dozens of data sources (including the CPO's own custom data), sophisticated data models, and AI to make that determination.

If you’d like to learn more, why not book a meeting with me?