EV charging gone from ‘perk to necessity’ for businesses, ChargePoint data reveals
New data demonstrating the global demand for EV charging and a major rise in fleet charging needs is now out from ChargePoint.
Published as the firm notes the rising ‘EV scepticism’ in the UK, the data for the ChargePoint global network shows there were over one million quarterly active drivers, an increase of 48% in North America, with European growth outstripping this average with an increase of 73%.
These 1 million quarterly active drivers had over 60 million charging sessions on ChargePoint stations, up 53% year on year, with European charging sessions outpacing the global trend, growing 70% and dispensing 87% more energy in 2023.
The ChargePoint network, which currently contains 274,000 active ports globally, dispensed over 1TWh in 2023.
ChargePoint also noted significant growth in demand for its hardware-agnostic charging management software, used by third-party charge point operators and electro mobility service providers. This rose 36% in 2023, with over 18 million sessions taking place across Europe on the software, dispensing over 421 GWh.
In total, over 1.5TWh were dispensed worldwide on ChargePoint technology in 2023, enough to drive over 4.5 billion miles.
ChargePoint’s figures for EV fleet charging – which covers commercial vehicles – grew significantly as vehicles finally started to become available en masse, with active port count on the European ChargePoint network up approximately 48% and charging sessions up nearly 89%. This includes HGVs and last-mile delivery fleets.
Workplaces are also scaling their electrification efforts and saw the most growth in Europe in 2023, with active ports at European workplaces on the ChargePoint network growing 84%, whilst charging sessions grew approximately 111%.
André ten Bloemendal, senior vice president of Europe at ChargePoint, said: “The increased utilisation across commercial sectors clearly points to the fact that EV charging has gone from a perk to necessity for businesses, their employees, and their customers.
“With more EVs on the road, drivers are looking for reliable and accessible charging where it’s most convenient for them, whether that’s pulling off the side of the motorway to charge whilst using the facilities or plugging in for a few hours while they’re at work. It’s clear that charging infrastructure must scale more rapidly alongside consumer adoption of EVs.”
He continued: “Workplace charging offers not only a great benefit to a company’s workforce, but we believe it offers a cost-effective alternative to those EV drivers who do not have the possibility to charge at home.
“For all people and goods to be transported on electricity, we must double down on AC charging at workplaces as this is where vehicles spend most of their time after the home, and ChargePoint believes AC charging offers the most cost-efficient way to install the needed infrastructure, and the most economical way to fuel up for the driver.”
ChargePoint defines “active ports” as the total number of charging ports on the ChargePoint network in North America and Europe with at least one charging session during the relevant period, excluding roaming ports.
A “charging session” is defined as a charging session on an active port where energy is dispensed during the relevant period. An “active driver” is defined as a driver account using the ChargePoint network for a charging session in each relevant period, excluding roaming sessions.
“Energy dispensed” is defined as the energy dispensed, in kWh, through active ports on the ChargePoint network during the relevant period. Port growth does not represent the number of new installation growth year-over-year, but the number of ports with at least one session year-over-year.