EV Discussion thread

JKenH

It’s not often that one can get an indication of the profitability of EV charging network operators but this news suggests things aren’t going so well.

Pod Point could be bought by EDF as sales plummet and EV demand wanes

Electric vehicle charging point maker Pod Point looks set to be sold to EDF after a sharp slowdown in demand hurt sales last year.

The London-listed firm delayed the publication of its annual results and announced the suspension of its shares from listing and trading from 1 May, as it revealed a takeover bid from the French multinational utility group.

Pod Point, one of the UK's biggest charging firms, has lost more than 97 per cent of its value since listing on the London Stock Exchange at 218p per share in November 2021.

Shares fell by around a third in January after Pod Point revealed a slowdown in demand for battery-powered cars had led to 2024 revenues of just £53million – well below the £60million it was expecting.

Pod Point also warned results for 2025 are set to be lower than anticipated as ‘ongoing weakness’ in electric cars sales dents demand for charging points at drivers’ homes.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-14643649/Pod-Point-bought-EDF-sales-plummet-EV-demand-wanes.html

JKenH

EV sales aren’t looking great for April. Here is a comparison of the picture today compared to 4 April. This data is delayed a few days. We might still see a surge in registrations on the last day of the month as we did with Vauxhall last month but if we do then that is only going to suggest that registrations are being manipulated to appear better than they really are. Unfortunately I didn’t take a screenshot of the total YTD registrations on 4 April but looking at SMMT figures for March at around 120k, the current total of 132k is disappointing.

April 4 on left. April 30 on right.

Reed_Richards

JKenH said:

It’s not often that one can get an indication of the profitability of EV charging network operators but this news suggests things aren’t going so well.

Is this surprising, given the cost of using one of these chargers?  It's approximately 10 times the cost of charging at home.  I know they want to make a profit but such a high price differential means I keep my use of external chargers down to the bare minimum, and I can't be alone in doing that.  

QrizB

Reed_Richards said:

JKenH said:

It’s not often that one can get an indication of the profitability of EV charging network operators but this news suggests things aren’t going so well.

Is this surprising, given the cost of using one of these chargers?  It's approximately 10 times the cost of charging at home.  I know they want to make a profit but such a high price differential means I keep my use of external chargers down to the bare minimum, and I can't be alone in doing that.  

Public charging in this UK does seem pricey. I think the cheapest one we've ever used was 35p/kWh (which I thought wasn't too bad, although it was an AC slow charger) but most of the DC rapids are 70p or more.

I was in Spain at the weekend (not in an EV!) and the 50kW rapid next to our hotel was 50 Euro cents, about 44p. There was one a bit further down the street for 33 cents. Those prices seem more reasonable, and better for encouraging on-street charging on urban areas.

There were also a lot of electric pedal cycles and mopeds available to rent.

silverwhistle

France is OK too on price although Italy reverts to prices nearer ours, so living on the South coast it would make a continental tour far more attractive were it not for the fact that the Channel is about the most expensive ferry route in the world.. after the Isle of Wight..

i hope to bimble North some time in June and I'll definitely take my granny charger for when I pop in to friends!