Finances are tight for US charging operators

ChargePoint and Blink Charging are facing financial difficulties. As per the charging companies’ most recent quarterly findings, both CPOs have less than a year of cash left as they face market pressures on multiple fronts, not only the Tesla NACS.

Blink & Chargepoint are two of the largest publicly-held EV charging networks in the United States but are having trouble keeping up with technology standards. A recent survey even found that network satisfaction has reached a low point, with around one-fifth of charging attempts currently failing on a technical basis.

What is more, according to the companies’ quarterly findings, both ChargePoint and Blink Charging have less than a year of cash left.

In terms of precise funding, ChargePoint used about $104 million in net cash in operating activities in its first fiscal quarter, and its cash at the end of the period was at $314 million. If the company proceeds, that leaves about nine months’ worth of cash on hand. Blink Charging spent around $65 million on operating activities over the first half of 2023, more than double the amount spent in the same period the year prior. By the end, Blink Charging’s cash funds stood at around $75 million, which translates to roughly seven months of cash on hand.

While the US government has set aside funds to help expand charging infrastructure, Tesla has been the company to profit most from the grants. That is mainly due to the cost advantage of the experience Tesla has with its supercharger network: Tesla incurred hardware costs of $17,000 per fast charger, compared to $130,000 for another unnamed company.

As such, the problem is that the companies need to invest cash in order to earn more, as charging standards are changing, and the customers will follow. “It’s kind of a perfect storm,” said Sam Abuelsamid, an analyst at Guidehouse Insights, adding: “They’re facing new competition, and their customers are not happy, and they need to spend money, but they can’t get the money, so it’s kind of the worst of all worlds for them.”

Meanwhile, Tesla’s NACS charging technology is gaining in popularity and not only carmakers but charging networks (have to) follow. Any retrofit, however, will again incur cost.

Plus, Tesla is not the only competition. BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis setting up their own HPC charging network in the USA, this does not bode well for the old guard.

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