Dive Brief:
- ChargePoint has acquired almost 10,000 electric vehicle charging stations from GE, including 1,800 commercial locations and 8,000 residential.
- According to Silicon Valley Business Journal, GE has apparently exited the charging business and financial details of the transaction were not released.
- ChargePoint is the largest electric vehicle charging network in the United States, and said it will seamlessly take over management of the stations. Customers should see few changes, and any warranties will still be honored by GE.
Dive Insight:
A statement from ChargePoint offers little detail for the deal's impetus, and instead focuses on what the company believes will be a seamless transition for GE customers coming into its network.
“Given its decade of experience, comprehensive portfolio and track record in the industry, we are confident ChargePoint is the best fit for our EV customers,” Bryan Groulx, general manager of GE’s EV operations, said in a statement. “We are committed to working together to ensure a smooth transition.”
GE has been constructing commercial and residential DuraStations and WattStations, which ChargePoint will now maintain. GE will continue to fulfill all of its warranty obligations. And drivers who are currently on the GE network will "also be invited to start using the ChargePoint mobile app to locate available stations, track usage and more," the company said.
Utilities are increasingly looking to electric vehicle charging load as an asset to be developed, and are looking to bring more EVs into their service territories.
“The total load of a developed market has to be managed to flatten the curve for utilities and share the benefit with other ratepayers,” ChargePoint Vice President for Utility Solutions Dave Packard told Utility Dive earlier this year.
