⚡️ Volatile Energy - how public charging prices are affected by increasing energy costs 📈

Happy Halloween Monday. This is the 7th Edition of Electric Avenue. Our EU readers have set the clock to winter time and we look forward to delight you with insightful EV news. Sprinkled with sweet and comforting EV memes, just like marshmallows in a hot chocolate.

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Here's what we have for you today:

• EV & Charging stock performance

• 1 Pic

• 3 thoughts

• 1 Vote

• EV Meme of the week

US EV startup stocks (TSLA, RIVN, LCID) had a week of recovery. NIO and XPENG on the other hand continue to fall, continuing the steady decline of Chinese tech stocks. We’re optimistic though that NIOs seemingly well-executed EU market launch can create positive momentum over the coming months.

1 Pic 🖼

According to new data by RAC (UK) the average cost to charge an electric vehicle (EV) at a public fast charger have almost doubled year over year. In particular the prices at ultra-rapid chargers (100kW+) have been affected by the significant increases of energy prices.

3 Thoughts 💬

• EV adoption under threat: Within the decision process for buying an electric car, the price and availability of public charging plays a decisive role (mentally more than in reality, as most drivers predominately charge their EV @home or @work). Increasing energy prices in Europe mean that the cost gap between charging an EV and refuelling a combustion vehicle is closing.

• Purchasing energy as a core competence: Charge point operators (CPOs) need to advance their strategies for purchasing energy as this will be a key cost-driver. Additionally, it can be a differentiator for those that are still able to offer attractive prices to electric mobility providers (EMP) and EV drivers. To further optimize infrastructure utilisation, CPOs will want to provide attractive prices at their networks. This will likely increase the trend towards dynamic time-of-use prices to reflect the spot market price of electricity. (see also "Dynamic Pricing for Public Charging" )

• The end of average tariffs: Providing "Peace of mind" through an average tariff (flat price per kWh/min) across multiple CPO networks is one of the unique selling propositions electric mobility providers (EMPs) offer to EV drivers in Europe. As energy prices become more volatile, these EMPs face challenges. On the one hand, they do not want to update their B2B prices in the same frequency at which the B2B conditions change - as the value proposition of stable, predictable pricing would diminish. On the other hand, this increases financial risks for EMPs - which threatens any company that aims to run their EMP services as a stand-alone profit center.

3 Links

• GM goes V2X: General Motors announced the formation of a dedicated Energy division. GM Energy will focus on vehicle-grid-integration topics such as bi-directional charging and V2X. We will be on the lookout for their product offering, which may include a emergency home backup feature for the Chevy Silverado EV pickup truck - competing with the Ford F150 Lightning.

• Aston Martin gets Saudi support: In our last edition we highlighted the various ways that Saudi investors helped jumpstart US EV startups. Only days later, it became public that Saudi PIF invested a large sum in Aston Martin and now owns an ~18% stake in the company. We`ll pay close attention to see what`s next for the British carmaker, that already is on a path to bringing it`s first fully electric model to market.

• Tesla Supercharger Flywheel: This interesting analysis by Alex Mitchell looks at the opening of the Tesla Supercharger network to 3rd party car models. The big take away here is that Tesla may be able to position the Supercharger (SC) network as a "premium" public fast charging network with premium pricing and attractive profit margins. In past years, Tesla SC pricing needed to be "inclusive". But with the CCS adapter coming to the US market, Tesla could "offload" price sensitive Tesla drivers to 3rd party networks - such as Electrify America - which charge lower prices.

Speaking of flywheels - we would love to hear from readers like you:

Meme of the Week

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions.