The Search for Public EV Charging Models

The prospect of rapid growth in the American electric vehicle market has encouraged a number of entrepreneurial companies to offer public 240v EV charging services. These companies hope to get in on the ground level of an electric car market that’s expected to grow from around 30,000 in mid-2012 to more than a million in the next five to six years. Many of these EV drivers will need some amount of public charging – but no company has yet proven a profitable business model that consumers will accept.

The list of companies vying for market leadership include 350Green, Better Place, Car Charging Group, Coulomb Technologies, Ecotality and NRG Energy. These companies employ variations and combinations of essentially three different fee rates—each with weaknesses delivering a sufficient flow of revenue and profits. The three primary approaches are: (1) pay-as-you-go, (2) monthly subscriptions, and (3) free or highly subsidized charging. Other mixed models, such as subscriptions that unlock low pay-as-you-go rates, are being tested.