Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are beginning to bounce back after they originally slumped due to warnings of slowdowns in EV production growth. This is part of a growing concern about an overall slowdown in electric vehicle demand and concerns from drivers around EV batteries.
Blink Charging (BLNK) CEO Brendan Jones joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the United States' EV infrastructure, driver concerns on charging range anxiety, and where the major opportunities lie moving forward.
"The fleet space is literally on fire and then the multifamily space, as you're seeing more municipalities structurally adjust. I'll give you Massachusetts as an example. You can't repave, re-light, or create a new parking place in Massachusetts without 10 to 15% EV chargers being installed," Jones emphasizes. "Those are the big demands and that's where the majority of our focus. In-home sales, we do a lot of those as well, but public, DC fast charging is only about 10% of our mix. So we have to remember, we have to change the paradigm."
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Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino
Video Transcript
- Tesla shares seeing a bit of a bounce back this morning after slumping following warnings of a slowdown in 2024. News about the fall in EV demand, especially with rising competition in the space, leaving some investors worried about the future of EV carmakers and what might happen as the year progresses. Let's bring in Brendan Jones, Blink Charging CEO to discuss more. Brendan a big piece of this concern about the EV slowdown is the driver concern that the infrastructure simply isn't there. I mean that would seem to suggest you've got a lot of demand on your end to install chargers. What does that demand picture look like for you right now?
BRENDAN JONES: So we're coming off our best year. We can't get full numbers yet because we still have yet to report in March. But the guidance we gave will be the best year in the history of the company both on the sales of L2 Chargers, which is the dominant means of charging and DC fast charging on our owner operator model as well. So not a good year. It's been a great year for BLNK, and we see that continuing into next year.
There's two parts going on. We have to educate the public as well as where the majority of charging takes place, which is in the home, at work, at other convenient locations. That it's a 90/10 split. 10% you're charging on the road with the DC fast chargers and the other 90% at home. And that's a key point as we move forward. We've got to continue to educate.
- To that point, where are you seeing the most demand without giving away those numbers as you point out because you've got earnings coming up. Are you seeing more, sort of, distribution in malls, is it in offices? What does that look like when you think about where the holes are in the EV infrastructure right now?
BRENDAN JONES: It's a great question. And where we see the biggest opportunities, let's speak in-- speak to it that way. The fleet space is literally on fire. And then the multifamily space, as you're seeing more municipalities structurally adjust, I'll give you Massachusetts as an example. You can't repave relight or create a new parking place in Massachusetts without 10% to 15% EV Chargers being installed.
So those are the big demands, and that's where the majority of our focus. In home sales, we do a lot of those as well. But public DC fast charging is only about 10% of our mix. So we have to remember, we have to change the paradigm. You can charge anywhere with an EV, you don't have to go to a Depot. There's nothing like waking up in the morning and have a full tank of fuel. And that's part of the education we have to get out there.
But the numbers for our business, they're quite impressive on that front. And it shows that yeah there might be a softening, but we're still going to have a major growth factor in all those areas as we move into 2024.
