Join Up and Plug In Now to the EV Market

Although the electric vehicle (EV) sector has attracted heavy interest and investment, most original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and utilities don’t expect to turn a profit in the area for many years. A robust EV ecosystem—including customers, vehicles, OEMs, utilities and third parties—can help move the sector forward.

Since 2010, there have been more than 100 EV-related transactions and EUR 2.5 billion in M&A activity from investment funds, oil and gas majors, utilities and OEMs. Key players within the ecosystem must provide greater car to charging point integration, reduce complexity and drive convenience across the entire customer lifecycle, create opportunities for energy sales and drive diversification as part of the energy transition and de-carbonization agenda. Entering the EV space inorganically will become increasingly difficult as the market consolidates, the number of targets shrinks and price to enter rises.

OEMs and energy utilities must focus on three key activities to identify and realize value for their customers via an EV ecosystem.

Energy utilities and OEMs will need to work together for EVs to become more attractive to a mainstream audience than traditional vehicles: the cost of charging must become more stable and competitive with gasoline and diesel, range and availability of charge points must become more convenient and reliable, and EVs must be able to hold a greater residual value.  Along the way, drivers will expect personalized insights and guidance to feel like making the switch to an EV will be a simple process and a sound investment. Customers are likely to engage with experiences that make them feel comfortable and confident.

An integrated ecosystem will support the customer experience across purchase, ownership and re-sale. Deciding on an EV, buying power, accessing public infrastructure and adding on adjacent products and services should be seamless and continuously drive customer value. For OEMs, this means integrating energy services into vehicle sale journeys. For energy utilities, this means becoming a distribution channel for vehicles as well as power users.

Energy utilities and OEMs must re-think how they work, collaborate, operate and organize in order to leverage current capabilities in new ways, create frictionless experiences, identify strategic partnerships and innovate to create new pools of customer value.

By coming together as an ecosystem, the future of EVs can become a success story for all stakeholders – not only will customers reap the benefits, but OEMs and utilities will drive value back to their businesses. The key is to join forces and start now.