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European's charging network infrastructure is probably more fragmented whereas in the U.S. there is only a few dominant ones: ChargePoint, EVgo and Tesla. Both
by devy 8y ago
European's charging network infrastructure is probably more fragmented whereas in the U.S. there is only a few dominant ones: ChargePoint, EVgo and Tesla. Both can have iOS Passbook / Wallet integration so that you don't need a physical RFID card but rather a digital pass, pair with a NFC-capable phone, physical ID cards are eliminated.
There are a lot of reason the charging infrastructure market is fragmented, mostly due to it's the early days of EV-lution where market consolidation hasn't fully played out yet. Also building charging stations is a capital-heavy business since it involves the land lease/purchase as well as construction/equipments (DC fast charging stations are very expensive, the higher the power the more expensive)/installation (permits etc)/maintenance. A friend of mine spent his own money to install a ChargePoint 50kw DCFC at his restaurant, it ended up costing an upward of $50k - at $2/kwh charging rate, he would barely break even in 3 years.
- jackhack 8y ago>>he would barely break even in 3 years from the profit at the charger, agreed. However, it's safe to presume this charger was installed in order to attract more wealthy customers -- ones who likely bring higher food & beverage profit margins than the average Corolla diver.
- nradov 8y agoI wouldn't be sure about that. Depending on incentives, a Nissan Leaf can be even cheaper than a Toyota Corolla.
- devy 8y agoYes - the EV incentive outlook have been changing quickly in Trump administration though. A lot of EV makers are undergoing phase out periods too, Tesla & GM and soon Nissan
- devy 8y agoYes and no. My friend told me that it didn't bring substantial business as he would have hoped for. But again, as a fellow EV enthusiast, installing a DCFC at his restaurant was his contribution to promote EV adoption rather than generating more revenue (nice to have). Obviously it would be a different story for different cases.
- sokoloff 8y agoIf he was charging a 10x markup on electricity, I’m not surprised he didn’t see a substantial uptick...
- londons_explore 8y agoFor most consumers, it isn't easy to find out the price of EV charging before arriving at the charger. And by the time you've arrived, you probably are going to stay anyway, at least for a bit, because there probably aren't many other chargers available in your remaining range.
- sokoloff 8y agoThe same app/site that I use to find charging stations tells me exactly what they charge for parking time and electricity consumption. Even if it didn't, most business relies on repeat customers. You can shear a sheep many times, but skin it only once.
- izacus 8y agoI really don't get why it's so impossible to just add a (contactless or normal) card payment terminal to the stations. The standard gas stations will have those, always.
- devy 8y agoIt's cost concerns, I suspect. Gas pump credit frauds are also a concern.
- adamparsons 8y agoBecause the first thing you do after fraudulently using a credit card is waiting around at the scene of the crime for an hour while your car charges