Chargemaster Plc said it expects sales of its electric vehicle (EV) charging units to grow eightfold in 2011 following the launch of a range of new charging solutions in April.
Executive chairman of
Chargemaster David Martell told
GreenWise the company had won orders for 150
electric charging stations from around eight different customers within the last month and expected to have sold in the region of 250 by the end of year. He said the company was at the "forefront of tenders for several thousand" in 2011. Customers so far to have bought its Chargemaster Fastcharge, Homecharge and Dualcharge solutions, include councils, supermarkets developers and transport companies, including Transport for London.
"We expect to
sell over 2000 units next year," said, Martell, who before setting up Chargemaster founded and later sold Trafficmaster, the vehicle tracking and traffic information provider. "We are growing rapidly and we are well capitalised with £1 million invested in the company already," he added.
Chargemaster is making its growth forecasts on the back of the launch of number of new EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles next year as well as the confirmation of new Government
subsidies to begin early next year.
Nissan, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Citroen and Smart are among the car manufacturers launching EVs for urban use in 2011.
The Coalition Government, meanwhile, has confirmed it will launch a subsidy that will see it refund £5000 of the purchase price of a pure electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle from January 2011.
"Surge in activity" in EV market"Up until recently there has been a slow penetration of electric vehicles within the motoring industry," said Martell. "However, with the Government’s recent announcements of electric vehicle initiatives, as well as new
investments made by motor manufacturers to launch their own electric vehicles – such as Nissan with its Leaf and Mitsubishi with its i-Miev – the industry has seen a surge in new activity."
According to some analysts, the European market for electric vehicles is expected to grow to 480,000 units by 2015. In the UK, the Government-funded 'Plugged-in Places’ alone will be installing 11,000 vehicle-recharging points in three towns and regions – London, Milton Keynes and the North East. Chargemaster says it is already in negotiations to sell its charging solutions with each of these places.
The Chargemaster electric car charging solutions were launched in April through parent company Infracharge Technologies Plc. They include the Chargemaster Fastcharge, an on-street charging unit claiming to be able to charge an electric car at more than twice the speed of existing on-street charge points. The Chargemaster Homecharge, meanwhile, is the first charging station specifically designed for home use. In June, the company added the Chargemaster DualCharge, an update to Infracharge’s existing POD Point charging station.
Network connectivity
The company said one of the unique benefits of its solutions is network connectivity. Using GPRS communications each post is connected to a central server managed by Chargemaster, which provides online services to both the motorist and site owners. A spokesperson for the company said: "These services provide account management, the ability to locate available posts and data on how much
energy has been used.
"The motorist can also be informed by text or email when the vehicle has been fully replenished or if it is about to exceed its allotted charging time – crucial when you are only allowed between three and four hour slots."
Units range in price from around £1,500 for an off-street single unit, to £3000 for a street side double unit.
Like this story? Please subscribe to our free weekly e-newsletter at the top of the page for more stories like this.
Related news: