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BP acquires UK's biggest EV charging network
BP has struck a £130bn deal to buy Chargemaster – the operator of the UK’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
The acquisition will see Chargemaster’s charging network (around 6,500 UK-built charging points across the country) extended to BP’s 1,200 forecourts across the country – a move BP says will increase public access to fast and ultra-fast EV charging.
The number of EVs is predicted to accelerate rapidly in the coming decades, with BP estimating that there will be 12mn EVs on UK roads by 2040, up from around 135,000 in 2017. Pivotal to this growth, the company says, will be delivering a ‘fast and convenient’ charging to EV users.
This is reflected by BP’s own plans to roll out an ultra-fast charging network across its forecourts next year, including 150 kW rapid chargers capable of delivering 100 miles of range in ten minutes.
BP is the latest oil company to stake a claim in the growing EV market. Last year, rival company Shell bought Dutch-based NewMotion – one of Europe’s leading EV charging providers.
The deal could also put BP at another major competitive advantage, according to data consultancy GlobalData.
Harminder Singh, GlobalData’s Director for Power, said: ‘The growth in charging structure has not kept pace with the growth in electric vehicles.’
Singh added: ‘According to the IEA’s (International Energy Agency’s) Global EV Outlook 2018, the number of EV charging stations in the UK has increased from 1,503 in 2011 to 13,534 in 2017… However the electric vehicle stock [has grown from] 2,900 in 2011 to 133,670 in 2017. This highlights the need for major players to enter the space, and the fastest way for them to do this is through mergers and acquisitions.’
Under the new acquisition, Chargemaster will be renamed BP Chargemaster.
