One of the UK’s most popular electric vehicle charging operators has issued a market warning that revenues could fall as it blamed weakness in the EV market.
Pod Point, one of the largest charge point operators in the UK, warned that revenues are set to be more than one-tenth below expectations, citing weak sales of electric vehicles.
The brand, which is majority-owned by French company EDF Energy, said it had reduced cash reserves significantly more than expected.
It blamed this on fewer drivers installing EV charge points at their homes. Expected revenues of £60million have now been downgraded to £53million for 2024.
Pod Point warned that 2025 could also be a difficult year
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As a result of a “challenging market backdrop”, Pod Point said that results for 2025 could also be below market expectations.
In total, there are 73,699 public charging devices across the UK, with 5,043 of these being Pod Point, making it the third largest charge point operator.
EV charging database Zapmap estimates that there are around 850,000 charging points installed at homes and workplaces around the country.
In November 2024, Pod Point announced that it had become the first charging provider to install more than 250,000 chargers, backed by the release of the Solo 3S home charging system and a new Plug and Power bundle.
Melanie Lane, chief executive of Pod Point, said the brand had achieved “a lot” in the past 12 months, despite the difficult market conditions.
She added: “As expected, 2024 has proven to be a transitional year in terms of our financial performance.
“We made good progress on our costs, but the weaker-than-expected private EV market has negatively impacted revenues,” PA reported.
Although 382,000 new electric cars were registered across the UK in 2024, many experts lamented the figures, saying that more needed to be done to help encourage Britons to make the switch.
The data, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), found that battery electric vehicles now make up a significant 19.6 per cent of the market share – more than triple that of diesel.
The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate has been praised for helping more electric cars hit the market, promoting competition among manufacturers and bringing down prices for consumers.
It requires manufacturers to have a minimum percentage of their total sales come from zero emission vehicles. The target for the end of 2024 was 22 per cent of cars and 10 per cent of vans.
This will be hiked to 28 per cent of cars and 16 per cent of vans in 2025 before reaching 80 per cent of cars and 70 per cent of vans at the end of the decade.
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The ZEV mandate requires manufacturers to have 28 per cent of sales come from EVs by the end of the year
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A spokesperson for the Department for Transport, said: “2024 was a record year for switching to electric, with 382k EVs sold across last year – a 21 per cent increase on 2023.
“Getting this transition right as more people make a switch to electric vehicles will support the growth of the market in the UK and will provide an opportunity to tap into a multibillion-pound industry that will create high-paid jobs for decades to come.”
