Founder of EO Charging reflects on $80m investment success
The latest news from the world of EVs
Hello and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.
Top stories in today’s edition… the founder of EO Charging reflects on his recent $80 million fundraise and the direction of the EV sector, Char.gy installs a huge 500 chargers in four weeks, and the ZEV mandate will be here in the “near future” according to a Transport minister.
As ever, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do get in touch. My contact details are here or simply reply to this email.
Charlie Jardine reflects on EO Charging’s success
Background: In 2014 within a pig shed somewhere in Suffolk, a young entrepreneur by the name of Charlie Jardine, formerly a marketing manager at Pod Point, set up EO Charging. Fast forward 8 years and the company is now a household name in the EV sector, particularly for its work electrifying huge fleets for brands like Amazon, Tesco, and DHL – as well as many households.
Big news: About two weeks ago, EO Charging revealed it had raised a whopping $80 million in equity investment from Vortex Energy, renewable energy investors backed by Egyptian and Abu Dhabi funds, as well as Zouk Capital, who have worked with EO since 2018 and also manages the Treasury’s £420m Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund. Learn more.
What next: Charlie and EO evidently have grand ambitions, and as someone who has been in the sector now for the best part of a decade, I asked a few questions about his thoughts on the state of the industry, as well as what EO plans to do with it’s new bank balance….
First things first, what will you be using your latest investment to focus on? “The past few years has seen EO quickly establish itself as a trusted partner and supplier to some of the world’s largest fleets in the UK… With the EV market growing rapidly in scale and geography, this funding puts us in a strong position to replicate this success in other markets,” says Jardine. “We’ll be focused on expanding our geographic reach and driving innovation within our suite of solutions for customers not only in the UK and Europe but also fast-growing markets like North America.”
And what’s going to make EO stand out from an already crowded market? “We are a technology company that likes to think ‘beyond the plug’ for our customers,” says Jardine. “Working with some of the world’s largest fleets has given us unique insight into the challenges that fleet operators face when electrifying and we’re constantly trying to find new ways of helping them navigate the process and empower them to gain greater charging independence.”
An example? “We recently created a multi-source financing platform called MOBILITe, which is designed to make it quicker and easier for fleet customers to access the capital, services, and expertise they need to electrify. This is because we know that the capital investment required for electrification projects still presents a substantial barrier to organisations that want to make the transition.”
With the Budget coming up next week, what does EO want to see for drivers? “We need to continue making the switch as appealing and affordable to everyday drivers as possible – especially in light of the cost of living pressures and the rising domestic energy costs… One way to make the switch to electric more affordable would be to incentivise the purchase of used EVs. This would offer more flexibility to consumers, who might not be able to cover the costs of a brand new vehicle.”
But what about businesses in the UK? “With Corporation Tax due to increase from April, there’s a risk that decision-makers will have less capital to invest in net zero plans. That’s why a carrot-and-stick approach is critical. I’d therefore like to see more discussion around both legislation on and support for businesses that are investing heavily in low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicle fleets.”
With the recent US Inflation Reduction Act turning heads in Europe, do you believe the UK is doing enough to support companies like EO? “Despite a challenging few years, the UK is still a leading player in the EV sector, and will continue to be a focus for us… That said, we are determined to be a global player and think there’s a huge opportunity for EO in the North American market,” says Jardine adding that the company had made several hires in the region already and that “some of the recent investment” will be used to support that growth.
What are the opportunities and threats over the coming year? “I’m feeling optimistic about the next 12 months. With the total cost of ownership strongly favouring EVs, vehicle owners of all shapes and sizes are now looking seriously at their transition plans. That said, with rising cost pressures, I believe we’ll see an increasing focus amongst fleet managers on demonstrating sustainability progress, whilst keeping a close eye on their bottom line.” Jardine points out that with the 2030 deadline approaching, his company is seeing “more and more businesses making the leap” to decarbonise.
In conclusion… It’s great to see a British company doing so well. It’s proof, not just for the EV sector, but for UK Plc as a whole that we don’t just have good ideas here, we can also scale-up. However, to keep companies like EO moving upwards, the whole industry will continue to need nurturing.
With thanks Charlie Jardine and his team for providing me these reflections and comments. You can follow Charlie on LinkedIn here, and EO Charging’s website is here.
Latest EV news stories
NEW HOPE: Whether the UK can meet its ambition of installing more than 300,000 chargers by 2030 has been subject to a lot of debate. But, yesterday, the charging network Char.gy provided a strong indication that it should be possible. The company revealed it has just installed its 2,000th device, with 500 of those being put in place in the last four weeks alone. As a comparison, the 500 before that took five months, and the 500 before that well over a year. Read more.
INDUSTRY FIGURES: February was a big month for battery electric cars as registrations grew by more than 18% compared to the same period last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Overall, they had the second-largest market share making up 16.5% of all registrations. Despite this, there have still been several briefings in the media about hybrids perhaps surging forward, very strange given those segments are still below BEV figures. In any case, the introduction of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate has never been more timely, and some commentators have this week called for it not to be delayed.
NEAR FUTURE: Speaking of the latest SMMT figures, last week in the House of Commons, Transport minister Jesse Norman answered several questions about the progress of the ZEV mandate. In response, he repeatedly said: “the Government will publish their response, alongside a final consultation on the full regulatory proposal, and an accompanying cost-benefit analysis, in the near future.” Fingers crossed. See the exchanges.
UNSUPPORTIVE: According to an article about the UK’s automotive industry in the FT last week, the Prime Minister has privately questioned the need for the government to support carmakers – sourced by two people who have heard the PM’s comments. As mentioned in my previous newsletter, it’s expected that Rishi will soon have himself a ‘net zero moment’ where he may try to counter these criticisms.
VAN TO BIKE: In a similar vein to supporting cars, SMMT also yesterday released new figures on electric van growth in the UK. What they found was only 966 new e-vans were bought in February, that’s compared to 1,741 this time last year. But, though the instinct is to be concerned by this, I’m not, and I hope it’s actually a good sign. While e-van sales may be low, the number of e-cargo bikes – which have the capacity to replace vans – have been soaring off the racks (sales grew 37% from 2021 to 2022). More of that, please.
SMALL CAR: At Tesla’s investor day last week, many were expecting to hear more details about its long-awaited hatchback. A lot of groundwork was laid out, but no image was provided for the army of Musk maniacs. Or was it…? The website Teslarati has picked up on a sketch from a Tesla marketing video last week that appears to show several hatchback-type designs. Read more.
DYNAMIC MUSK: On the topic of Tesla’s investor day, while finishing a presentation on charging, Rebecca Tinucci, head of global charging infrastructure, shared two images with the “Cool S***” the company may want to pursue in the future. This included a Supercharger diner and a wireless charging pad. Naturally, Tesla is known to sprinkle ideas like this everywhere. But, interesting all the same. As a reminder, the Financial Times recently shared an interesting story on the potential for wireless charging last month.
MODEL DROP: A final Tesla-related story to note, the carmaker has cut the price of its Model Y to £44,320 this week – a drop of 6%, or £2,770. This is the second time in recent months that Tesla has reduced prices, and will almost certainly impact the used market – and no doubt frustrate recent buyers. Read more.
RAPID NETWORK: Last week a new ultra-rapid charging network launched called ‘PoGo’ – which means ‘Power and Go’. The network is being run by Swarco, a familiar name in EV charging, who have already installed 12,000 chargers at homes and commercial properties. The new network said it would have 100 sites open this year. Ambitious. Read more.
BIG SITE: From the new networks to the old, on Friday, BP unveiled its largest EV charging hub in Kettering, Northamptonshire. The new sites have 10 chargers capable of 300kW – or charging 20 cars at a max of 150kW. Read more.
BLACK TAXI: There are now more electric black cabs in London than there are diesel taxis, according to figures released today by the London Electric Vehicle Company. The TX electric taxi now represents 40% of all black cabs in London. Read more.
NEW POINTS: Edinburgh Council alongside the Scottish Futures Trust is putting plans in place to build more than 500 public chargers in the city. Read more.
MONEY ADVICE: The Times on Saturday published a pretty balanced guide on whether EV ownership was still more cost-effective than a petrol or diesel car. See here.
NEW STATS: Last week, the leasing company Zenith published a survey of 3,000 EV drivers finding most owners are overwhelmingly positive about their cars. Despite some of the headlines, 86% would stick with an EV, and 86% also believed the infrastructure would improve. However, only 31% found charging availability better than expected, and 1 in 4 found it worse.
SAD TAX: Members of the House of Commons Transport Committee have expressed disappointment that the Treasury has not considered its recent report on road pricing. The crux of the report is that the government will lose billions as people switch to EVs without one. Although, in the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor did already outline future EV road taxes from 2025.
CLEAN FUEL: Speaking of the Transport Committee, more recently, they have published a report titled ‘Fuelling the Future’ whereby they’ve suggested the government explores the use of sustainable fuels alongside its current strategy. As part of this, the Committee suggested that synthetic fuel could be an alternative for drivers unable to afford electric cars – or who are unserved by infrastructure. Read it here.
By Tom Riley | Check my Linktree for LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter