Uscale Study: Tectonic Shift in the Charging Market - Customers Prefer Large Providers

Customers are responding to the price increase in the charging market by switching their providers: The trend is towards the big providers with their own networks. This is shown by the new Charging Services Study 2024 from the market research company Uscale based in Stuttgart. High roaming fees are currently putting a damper on low-cost charging, according to the findings.

"Anyone who has a charging contract and wants to charge with other providers on the go often has to dig deep into their pockets. The reason for this is roaming fees that charge point operators impose as soon as a customer uses a contract that does not belong to their own network," states the company.

The survey found that EV drivers who charge publicly use an average of 3.5 charging cards, apps, or contracts. Their number had decreased in recent years—with an interruption in the first year of the war in Ukraine—but is now increasing again. Those who want to charge at lower prices across the entire public charging network must therefore again conclude contracts with several providers. While EV drivers previously opted for providers that enabled access to several hundred thousand charging points in Europe at a flat rate, they are now more frequently choosing providers with the largest possible own charging network.

EnBW dominates, Aral pulse catches up, Tesla is established

They find this with operators, the so-called Charge Point Operators (CPOs), like EnBW (21% market share), ARAL pulse (10%), or IONITY (9%). The Supercharger network from Tesla also plays in the top league: Among Tesla drivers, it has a market share of 76%, among non-Tesla drivers it is still 5%. Charging service providers, the so-called eMobility Service Providers (eMSPs), which only offer access but do not have their own charging network, are under pressure due to the roaming fees that are associated with each charging session. This group includes almost all car manufacturers, alongside pure roaming providers such as Chargemap or Plugsurfing. Their market share has significantly declined last year (with the exception of Tesla with its own Supercharger network). Car manufacturers and importers must therefore ask themselves whether the charging business is economically viable and necessary for them in the long term.

"We are observing an earthquake in the charging provider market. The high roaming fees have increased both the lack of transparency and, on average, the charging prices. This not only makes charging more expensive for EV drivers but also significantly less convenient for everyone who wants to avoid the high roaming fees. Customers are responding and are more frequently turning to the large providers. With the emerging concentration, the charging market is on the path towards an oligopolistic structure, similar to what we know from gas stations," explains Axel Sprenger, founder and managing director of Uscale.

Cooperations Give a Jump-Start

The second reason for the shift of users towards CPO providers lies in cooperations. For instance, ARAL pulse was able to gain half of its customers through a cooperation with ADAC. Automakers are also increasingly relying on partnerships with large providers, instead of developing their own charging services. Examples include Hyundai's cooperation with ARAL and BYD with Shell. The third reason for the shift among charging service providers lies in the new user groups that are now switching to electric vehicles. While the first-generation EV drivers used multiple, including small providers with specific advantages, the next generation of electric car drivers tends to choose well-known providers with a large supply network more frequently.