Commentary on EV Industry Profitability Claims

In a recent Driving.ca article titled “EV-Charging Industry is Doing Everything Except Making Money,” author David R. Baker makes a compelling argument that the EV infrastructure sector is a revenue desert, essentially incapable of generating enough cash flow to sustain profitability due to a lack of interest from motorists. “The dilemma boils down to demand,” he states, before adding that “lots of people still driving gasoline-powered cars won’t consider going electric until they see charging stations widely deployed.”

In many ways, he’s right. As of 2020, market share of EVs in the US stood at less than 2%. And while this is nearly triple what it was just five years prior, it still accounts for a small overall number of vehicles on American roads. Things like range anxiety and lack of available chargers have oft been cited by consumers as the top reasons for avoiding electric. The article goes on to share a number of facts and quotes from industry insiders that seem to back up the idea that the sector is operating in a sort of economic penumbra, with only minor bright spots in an otherwise shadowy fiscal wasteland.

The biggest claim is the lynchpin of the entire piece. “So far, none of the companies that deploy [charging] equipment has figured out how to make a profit,” Baker says in his opening salvo. This is where we beg to differ. Perhaps many of the companies interviewed have not yet established profitability, but we were able to achieve that milestone in our second year of operation thanks to a redefined business model, which, while acknowledging most of the facts Baker outlined therein, disputes the underlying premise to which they refer. Here are a few ways EVCS does car charging differently.

1.) Public/Private Partnerships

We treat municipalities and government agencies (think DOTs) like clients rather than mere regulatory bodies. Just like any private contractor performing work for the state, much of our funding comes from forward-thinking governments that see electric car charging as a way to increase local business and create cleaner air. This attracts new eco-conscious shoppers and residents, resulting in greater tax revenue. We have excelled at identifying myriad sources of state and federal funding dedicated to charger installation, which makes private property owners more inclined to become site hosts, thereby completing the triangular nature of our turnkey solution.

2.) Staying Lean

Our organization has managed to minimize many of the internal expenses that often weigh on balance sheets. Our CEO’s past experience in the space with Green Commuter has allowed for many valuable lessons in running a lean, efficient operation, and our CFO brings a wealth of knowledge in finance and accounting, particularly as it relates to start-ups. We have been able to outsource much of the cost-intensive work that indebts other organizations, like hardware manufacturing and the development of networking software, while using SaaS and other tech solutions to streamline internal processes.

3.) A New Business Model

While EV drivers are our ultimate focus, our business model begins with a B2B solution. We offer property owners a brand-new revenue stream with no upfront cost to them. We handle the site assessments, permitting, trenching, electrical work, installation and maintenance, while splitting each sale with the site hosts. However, unlike competitors, we don’t make or own chargers, which eliminates the costly endeavor of maintaining inventory. Nor do we “sell” charging stations, which involves massive sales efforts to convince reluctant business owners with already slim profit margins to invest in something that seems speculative, and offers no profit participation from charging.

4.) Measured Scaling

Many companies grew too big too fast. We started where the business was – namely California, with modest roll-outs in Oregon and Washington. Our approach is to drive innovation in the sector, but also to take a measured approach to scaling by gradually expanding in key markets. With President Biden’s new infrastructure package and numerous states like Colorado and Massachusetts exploring state-mandated transitions to electric, we’ll be prepared to more rapidly scale into new cities and states using our unique and cost-effective turnkey solutions, lean operating philosophy and extensive knowledge of government funding sources.

Baker’s entire article can be found here: https://driving.ca/auto-news/industry/ev-charging-industry-is-doing-everything-except-making-money

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Installation of the Month (February 2021): Hollywood & Highland

In the movie Spider-man, Uncle Ben tells Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The phrase, which came to be known as the “Peter Parker Principle,” is just as true today as it was 20 years ago when the movie first premiered. And just as Peter took seriously his newfound powers, we take seriously our responsibility to facilitate broader access to vehicle electrification options – quite literally the “great power” here is the electricity that keeps EVs moving. We also understand the power of movies and television to convey the importance of electric mobility, be it through information, entertainment or influence marketing. As such, Hollywood has become a tremendous partner in advancing the EVCS mission.

Installation of the Month (January 2021): Barlow Respiratory Hospital

While 2021 brings hope and promise for greater widespread adoption of electric mobility, a quick glance at our portfolio reminds us of all the headway we’ve already made toward that end. Last year, we seized on positive customer sentiment and abundant fiscal opportunities in the green energy space, allowing us to become one of the top installers of EV charging infrastructure in the State of California (with 500+ installations completed and counting). As such, we thought it might be worthwhile to share some of these installations with you – a new success story each month – so that you can see firsthand the favorable strides we’re making toward a carbon-neutral future.

2020: A Year in Review

Two thousand twenty has been a year of undeniable adversity, but also one of remarkable achievement. A year of firsts and hopefully a few lasts. A time of toil and tribulation, but also of triumph. For genuine success is partly defined by our ability to hurdle those implacable obstacles that make the result so noteworthy in the first place. Now, as the EVCS team looks back on this unusual year, we take stock of our unique achievements that made 2020 one for the books.

Electrification Progress in the Age of COVID

It’s pretty clear that vaccine or no, COVID will be here for a while, and with it the new normal of face masks, social distancing, telecommuting and (consequently) less road travel. While some might view this with trepidation, we see it as an opportunity. Since the earliest weeks of the pandemic, major metro areas like Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago – those with large reductions in automobile traffic – immediately began seeing improvements in air quality, according to articles in the New York Times and Washington Post. More recent, an NPR story noted ozone pollution has decreased as much as 15% in many of these places. It seems an unintended consequence of the lockdown has been to accelerate the transition to responsible mobility by demonstrating its positive effects on the environment.

Commentary on Geotab’s 2020 EV Fleet Trends Article – Part II

Two weeks ago, we published part one of our commentary on Geotab’s in-depth article, “Electric Vehicle Trends 2020: Top 6 Factors Impacting Fleet Electrification” (https://www.geotab.com/white-paper/electric-vehicle-trends/). Again, the idea was to assess whether each of the trends were evolving as Geotab predicted and, if so, how EVCS was responding to them in the marketplace. Below are the final three trends referenced and our thoughts on each.