Report: North American Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Poised for Growth

Electric vehicle purchases haven’t grown as fast as some in the automotive industry forecast a couple of years ago, which many analysts attribute to the limited selection, high prices compared to comparable high-efficiency gas-powered models and concern about driving range. Nonetheless, the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) market in North America has grown rapidly.

A recent study from Frost & Sullivan, titled Strategic Technology and Market Analysis of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in North America, estimated that there will be approximately 4.1 million charging points by 2017.

That represents significant potential business for electrical manufacturers and distributors who have charged into the EVSE market, though industry sources tell us they expect something less than the growth rate Frost projects. “The charging infrastructure is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 128.12 percent, due to the currency of the ‘green’ concept and oil prices’ volatility,” the research firm said in a release announcing the study. The build-out of supply infrastructure has also been helped along by government incentives.

Electrical industry sources talk more comfortably of a still-robust 50% rate of compound annual growth in the EVSE market. The market will ultimately rise or fall with consumer and fleet demand for electric vehicles, but that demand is expected to improve as a wider variety of EVs and plug-in hybrids come into the market. Mike Calise, director of electric vehicles for Schneider Electric, expects charging systems installed in workplaces to be the strongest growth area over the next few years.

According to Frost, the most common EV charging systems over the next five years will continue to be Level 1 systems that plug into standard home wiring systems, as every EV sold comes with a Level 1 charging cord. Frost expects about 71% of the charging stations to be Level 1, followed by Level 2, which will account for 27% of the market by 2017.

The growth in EVSE may be strong, but Frost sees challenges in the short term that need to be sorted out, most of them issues “typical to a nascent market,” the release said. Among these are standardization of charging systems in vehicles, charging stations, and business models.

“However, continuous R&D will help overcome these challenges in the next two to three years,” Frost said. “As the market is still evolving, participants are in the process of identifying the scope of development of technologies and economically viable business models.”