Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market to Grow at Significant Rate in Coming Years

Tuesday 24 January 2012, Amsterdam

The global market for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations is expected to grow at a significant Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 155% during the period 2011-2020. The growth rate for the EV charging station market can be attributed to the increasing production of electric vehicles in order to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gases (GHG) from the transportation sector. Government support is expected to help the market witness mass deployments to sustain the increasing penetration of electric vehicles during this period.


The Need to Support the Electric Vehicle Adoption will Drive the Market for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

The governments of individual countries have established targets for electric vehicle deployment for 2020. These targets will act as a driver promoting the charging station market across different countries. Electric vehicle adoption should increase when customers are confident that they can charge their vehicle at any given point and time. This objective will drive mass deployment of electric vehicle charging stations across the world. So, growth in the market for charging stations and in the market for electric vehicles are strongly linked.


Lack of Uniform Standard for Charging Stations will Hamper Market Prospects

Charging stations have developed along with changes in technology. Different standards are followed for the installation of charging stations across various regions globally. The Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) standards are followed in North America and parts of the Asia-Pacific region. International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) standards are followed by the countries of the European Union (EU), and CHAdeMO standards for quick chargers in Japan. The electric vehicle manufacturers need to make provisions for different charging types as the charger standards are different. This would increase the cost production for auto manufacturers. It is difficult for a uniform standard to emerge owing to rivalry between SAE and CHAdeMo.


No Clear Global Dominance of Players in Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market

The global market for electric vehicle charging stations is marked by the presence of major vendors such as Better Place, Coulomb Technologies, Aerovironment, Elektromotive, Aker Wade and Eaton Corporation. There is no clear majority in terms of market share of these players at the global level. The global market is not dominated by a single player as the market share is evenly distributed among these companies, based on the number of completed installations. The US and Canadian market is dominated by Coulomb Technologies, while Pod Point is a major player in the UK. Better Place has marked its presence in Australia, and the electric vehicle charging station market in Japan has the auto manufacturer as its major player.