Electric vehicle (EV) charging network ChargePoint has managed to rake in $82 million in a funding round led by German bigwig Daimler. Existing investors including BMW i Ventures, Linse Capital, Rho Capital Partners, and Braemar Energy Ventures also participated in the round.
Established in 2007 and based in Campbell, California, ChargePoint boasts of its status of one of the biggest EV charging networks in the world, touting more than 30,000 charging stations across North America and Australia. This latest funding round brings the total amount raised to more than $255 million since it was founded, including a hefty $59 million infusion last May.
This latest addition is its biggest single investment to date and will be channeled towards the company’s mission to “lay the foundation for Europe’s most comprehensive and intelligent charging network,” according to a company statement.
The latest funding actually forms part of a larger $100 million raise, but as of now, only $82 million has been released — the company has remained mum on what the additional money is contingent on or when it will be arriving. However, it would be feasible to say that it rests on ChargePoint meeting some pre-agreed targets with its investors. Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint, commented:
The automobile industry is at an inflection point, with more vehicles coming onto the market offering highly advanced electric powertrains than any other time in the world’s history. The significant investment by our lead investor Daimler and others not only underscores a collective commitment to e-mobility around the world, but will lay the groundwork for Europe’s most comprehensive charging network.
Electric car companies such as Tesla make up the competing charging networks to ChargePoint. Once upon a time, Tesla owners received free unlimited recharges at Tesla charging ports, but starting January 1 this year, new vehicles can now claim only up to 400-kilowatt hours of credits, the equivalent of about 1,000 miles a year.
However, Tesla and hordes of other charging providers, including PlugSurging, have had the upper hand over ChargePoint in one major area: their offering of charging stations in Europe. Although fragmented, it is a significant market for EV vehicles — something that ChargePoint has now locked in on.
Europe is the second biggest market for electric vehicles after China, with the likes of Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, the U.K., and France all making it to the top of the list. Many European countries are already giving incentives to consumers to purchase EVs by offering perks such as tax reductions and exemptions.
This is a major reason that ChargePoint is gunning to close in on this market. Having Germany’s Daimler — owner of big brands such as Mercedes-Benz — on board speaks volumes about the future of this route. Axel Harries, head of CASE/EVA at Mercedes-Benz, explained:
Daimler is committed to supporting the future of e-mobility with a full ecosystem of connected, autonomous, shared and electric transit solutions. ChargePoint is the benchmark in the EV charging space, offering world-class solutions that help to address some of the fragmentation in Europe and accelerate the market’s shift toward e-mobility. As the world leader in EV charging products and services, ChargePoint is the right partner to further our deep commitment to e-mobility as the future of transportation.
As a result of the Daimler investment, Harries is also joining the board of directors. Earlier this year, ChargePoint announced its new ChargePoint Express Plus platform, which promises to accelerate electric car charging by 800 percent.
