Chapter 1

The future of EV charging

Exploring the IoT needs of charging companies

The future of EV charging
Introduction

EV growth remains steady, but infrastructure lags behind

In recent years, electric vehicles (EVs) have taken the world by storm. They have gone from being a rarity or a luxury to being extremely accessible by many customers around the world. In 2024, nearly 14 million new electric cars were registered globally, bringing the total number of electric cars on the road to 40 million. What’s more, data from PwC shows that 55% of drivers intend to buy an EV in the next two years.

 

However, in 2024, EV sales began to show signs of slowing down. In both the US and the EU, sales of new electric vehicles have been plateauing since the spring of this year due to a variety of concerns, such as affordability and crucially, a lack of reliable charging infrastructure. Manufacturers are responding accordingly and pivoting back to balancing EV efforts with more traditional fuel-powered cars. In September 2024, Volvo announced that it would abandon its plans to produce only electric cars by 2030.

  • To bounce back from this slowdown, a collaboration between government bodies, car manufacturers, and key players in the EV charging infrastructure is essential. Government subsidies for electric cars, cheaper vehicles, and more and better EV charging points are the only way in which customers’ faith in electric cars can be restored, and the growth of this technology can continue.

  • In this report, we’ll focus on the technology needs behind the evolution of EV charging infrastructure, specifically IoT technology. IoT is the backbone of EV charging and has already enabled the creation of thousands of reliable charging points worldwide. However, in order for the EV evolution to continue, charging providers need more advanced IoT solutions to keep the infrastructure robust, secure, and easy to use.

Your questions, answered

To find out more about the IoT needs of the companies responsible for EV charging infrastructure, BICS ran a survey of manufacturers, operators, and software providers to charging stations. We asked a variety of questions to map the IoT landscape of EV charging, identify areas of improvement, and understand what is holding companies back from investing in better IoT solutions.

Read on to find out more