BP, car chargers to overtake pumps in profitability race
Shell aims to have 500,000 charging points globally by 2025. On Thursday it opened its first ultra-fast EV charging station in London, which can charge 80% of a car battery in 10 minutes.
LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – BP says its fast electric vehicle chargers are on the cusp of becoming more profitable than filling up a petrol car.
“If I think about a tank of fuel versus a fast charge, we are nearing a place where the business fundamentals on the fast charge are better than they are on the fuel,” BP’s head of customers and products Emma Delaney told Reuters.
Strong and rising demand for rapid battery chargers in Britain and Europe, has already brought profit margins close to those for traditional petrol filling, she said.
The milestone will mark a significant moment for BP which wants to shift away from oil and expand operations in power markets and around electric vehicles (EV).
EV charging has for years been a loss-making business as a whole for BP and rivals as they invest heavily in its expansion. The division is not expected to turn profitable before 2025 but on a margin basis, BP’s fast battery charging points, which can replenish a battery within minutes, are nearing levels they see from filling up with petrol.
“Overall, we see a huge opportunity in fast charging for consumers and businesses, as well as fleet services more generally – that’s where we see the growth, and where we see the margins,” Delaney said.
Shell aims to have 500,000 charging points globally by 2025. On Thursday it opened its first ultra-fast EV charging station in London, which can charge 80% of a car battery in 10 minutes.
London-based BP plans to grow its EV charging business in the coming years to 70,000 charging points by 2030 from 11,000 now.
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