The electric vehicle charging station market is characterized by the presence of many regional and global players. The market is highly competitive with all the players competing to gain market share. Intense competition, uneven environment conditions, rapid advances in technology, frequent changes in government policies, and environmental regulations are the key factors that confront market growth and enhance the electric vehicle charging station demand and sales. The electric vehicle charging station manufacturers compete based on cost, product quality, reliability, and data privacy. It is crucial for the manufacturers to provide cost-efficient and high-quality product offering, in order to survive and succeed in an intensely competitive market.
The growth of the market players depends on the economic conditions, government support, and industry development. Thus, they have been observed focusing on improving their products and expanding their regional presence. Siemens, Schneider Electric, ABB, Tesla, and Eaton held nearly 42.2% of the market share in 2018.
EVgo Services LLC, ChargePoint, Inc., Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc., The New Motion B.V., and Webasto Group, are some of the other players operating in the electric vehicle charging station market. The players have enhanced product portfolios, vast industry experience, and geographic reach. Such players may strengthen their presence in the global electric vehicle charging station, through new product developments and an increase in research and development investments during the forecast period. Players with access to better technologies can develop unique and innovative products and services, which could render the competitors’ products, obsolete. The competitive environment in the market is likely to intensify further due to an increase in the number of partnerships and collaborations.
Threat of New Entrants
The electric vehicle charging station industry is highly capital intensive, and the level of technical expertise required for electric vehicle charging station development and manufacturing is highly specific. The presence of well-known electric vehicle charging station manufacturers such as Schneider Electric, ABB, Tesla, Inc., Siemens AG, and Eaton Corporation in the electric vehicle charging station market and their strong research capabilities make it difficult for new entrants to gain significant market shares and achieve economies of scale.
Moreover, the established companies are manufacturing electric vehicle charging stations with high-quality materials and advanced technologies. The high manufacturing standards and advanced product development activities give them a competitive advantage over the new entrants. Thus, the threat of new entrants in the global electric vehicle charging station market is expected to be low during the forecast period.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The electric vehicle charging station manufacturers procure both raw materials and components from suppliers. The raw materials include metal, steel, glass, plastic, and copper, while the components include batteries, safety interlocks, rectifiers, power control units, MCU, and others. There is a large number of raw materials suppliers. The availability of components suppliers is limited as the components are manufactured with continuously evolving technologies while maintaining the highest manufacturing standards to achieve the required working efficiency.
Established electric vehicle charging station manufacturers procure these raw materials and components in very high quantities, which reduces the bargaining power of suppliers up to a certain extent. However, the charging station manufacturing companies cannot easily switch suppliers due to the risks involved in not getting the required quantity and quality of materials and the necessary technologies and efficiency of the components from new suppliers, on time, which raises the switching cost. Moreover, these manufacturers tend to have long-term contracts with their suppliers. Thus, the bargaining power of suppliers in the global electric vehicle charging station market is expected to be moderate during the forecast period.
Threat of Substitutes
Currently, electric vehicle charging stations have no direct substitutes in the global market. Thus, the threat of substitutes in the global electric vehicle charging station market is expected to be low throughout the forecast period.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
Electric vehicle charging stations are currently primarily being deployed by manufacturing companies. However, some government and private organizations and individuals are purchasing electric vehicle charging stations for residential and commercial purposes. The number of buyers of electric vehicle charging stations is moderate as the awareness regarding the benefits of electric vehicle charging stations is moderate. The buyers generally depend on the existing providers as the switching cost and the risks associated with the product quality, technical specifications, replacement, and aftermarket services of new electric vehicle charging station manufacturers are high. Thus, the overall bargaining power of buyers in the global electric vehicle charging station market is expected to be moderate during the study period.
Intensity of Rivalry
Product differentiation within the global electric vehicle charging station market is very high. This is because the electric vehicle charging station manufacturing companies are developing various materials, technologies, charging methods, and product designs according to the requirements of the end users to improve their performance, reduce charging time, and enhance vehicle capabilities. Hence, they are heavily investing in the extensive research & development of electric systems.
The low threat of new entrants, low threat of substitutes, moderate bargaining power of buyers, and moderate bargaining power of suppliers are the factors contributing to the moderate intensity of rivalry in the global electric vehicle charging station market during the study period.
