The market for electric charging stations - France

A vehicle charging station is an infrastructure equipped with one or more charging points for recharging electric vehicles. It comprises the space needed to park a vehicle and other components, such as a charge management cabinet. Worldwide, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.4% until 2030. The countries with the highest number of charging stations are China, the United States and South Korea, with France occupying 5ᵉ position in the global ranking. However, when we look at the density of the charging station network, we see that it is the Netherlands and Norway that are ahead of the other countries. In Europe, the number of charging stations is rising steadily, thanks to strong public policy incentives and the prospect of electric car sales far outstripping those of conventional cars in the medium term. In France, the number of charging points has been rising sharply, particularly since 2020. The vast majority of these charging points are privately owned, with the remainder held by businesses. Demand is driven by the recent surge in the number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Territorial coverage of electric charging infrastructure is becoming an increasingly important issue for public authorities and automotive and energy companies. The players' business model remains fragile, with profitability affected by increased competition. Players in the sector need to reach a significant critical mass to generate profits, as margins are still very low. If many players are positioning themselves in this promising market today, we can imagine that there will be a concentration phenomenon.