EVgo Will Begin NACS EV Charging Deployments in 2024

On May 14, 2024, EVgo announced that the company will begin to deploy North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors on its fast charging network later this year. NACS connectors are currently in the process of being standardized as SAE J3400.

EVgo stations included in the roll-out will serve both CCS and NACS vehicles. For the company to maximize charger utilization, deployments will begin in key markets with high NACS vehicle penetration. In the first quarter of 2024, overall utilization on the EVgo network was approximately 19%, up from approximately 9% in the first quarter of 2023.

“The seismic shift in the competitive landscape for EV charging has opened new opportunities to drive usage on the EVgo network and accelerate our network expansion by fostering new site host partnerships,” said Badar Khan, CEO of EVgo. “EVgo had previously identified more than 100,000 potential stalls with strategic site host partners, and with recent industry changes, we welcome further dialogue with our current and potential partners on how we can collaborate to deploy more fast charging infrastructure in convenient locations for drivers.”

Nearly 40% of EVgo’s stalls are powered by a 350kW EV charger, almost double the percentage a year ago. The company’s decision to do this was to best serve vehicle models with the most advanced battery technology and high peak charge rates.

Autocharge+ is EVgo’s streamlined payment feature that allows drivers to plug in and initiate a charge without the use of an app, credit card, or RFID card, removing a formerly troublesome EV charging payments barrier. Both Tesla and future non-Tesla NACS vehicles will be able to use Autocharge+, which mirrors the Plug and Charge experience. Autocharge+ is available to over 50 vehicle models, including all Tesla models today that are compatible with the CCS adapter made by Tesla.

EVgo is one of America’s largest public fast charging providers, featuring over 1,000 fast charging locations across more than 35 US states, and growing fast. Its network includes stations built through EVgo eXtend™, its white label service offering.

BP Pulse Takes Advantage of Tesla SuperCharger Layoffs, Will EVgo Be Next?

In April, Tesla shocked the EV industry by announcing that it was laying off its Supercharger team shortly after revealing plans to cut more than 10% of its global workforce. Tesla received significant backlash for these layoffs. Many in the EV industry, along with investors and other stakeholders, expressed great concern, as the Tesla Supercharger network has been the largest and most reliable EV charging network to date.

On May 10, Tesla CEO Elon Musk addressed the criticism by stating, “Just to reiterate: Tesla will spend well over $500M expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year. That’s just on new sites and expansions, not counting operations costs, which are much higher.”

According to Bloomberg, Tesla has started re-hiring some of the laid-off members of the charging team, including Max de Zegher, an executive who previously worked under the former head of Supercharging, Rebecca Tinucci.

EVinfo.net’s opinion is that it’s too soon to determine the full impact of these layoffs on Tesla’s Supercharger network. However, we suggest that the EV industry will continue to thrive as charging stations remain a profitable venture, according to Stable Auto.

BP Pulse said it plans to expand BP’s EV charging in the U.S. as a response to the Tesla Supercharger layoffs, shortly after the layoffs were announced.

“We are aggressively looking to acquire real estate to scale our network, which is a heightened focus following the recent Tesla announcement,” BP said.

Sujay Sharma, CEO of BP Pulse Americas, told Bloomberg that EV charging site owners who were working with Tesla should contact BP:

“If there are stranded real estate partners who are looking for someone to call, they should feel free to pick up the phone and call me or look me up on LinkedIn,” Sharma said.

Will EVgo be the next charging network to profit from Tesla’s pullbacks? Only time will tell.