EV chargers are simply sophisticated battery chargers, nothing more, nothing less.
Back in the 1990s,I remember visiting 12Volt automotive battery charger companies in the USA who were trying to hold on competing with China. They were employing all kinds of sophisticated “lean manufacturing” techniques in an effort to reduce costs and compete with a country where labor costs were a small fraction of their own. Yet despite the advantages of local supply, the market dictates and in that case, required that the entire production of 12Volt consumer battery chargers be moved overseas. If there remains today a single digit percentage manufacturing capacity in the USA, it is very niche and likely more for marine/RV applications, or industrial (OEM).
Move twenty years forward and here we are with a more sophisticated battery charging agenda. It includes utilities, solar companies, EV charger makers, vehicle manufacturers, government policies, etc… Nestled within this matrix is the major agenda of pushing “green” by all. The “greenwashing machine” is in full throttle. Everybody wants to jump on board. So once again begs the question…who will buy local…and who will go offshore?
I suspect we will see a variety of models appearing as follows:
Early on, domestic production will dominate because of the lack of information and volume of the market. Justifying setting up a local infrastructure for an offshore company means volume, and without the volume, there can be no justification.
Automotive makers will reward the DOE and federal government support by supporting local makers as much as possible. They will certainly retain a lion’s share of supply from domestic vendors for their own needs, while perhaps viewing as “accessories” the chargers that they may offer consumers for residential use through their dealers.
Retailers are the wild card. They are the ones that often chase the pennies. And so as the market grows, I suspect these will be the first to look overseas for solutions, and will drive the pricing down. Currently we are seeing level 1 chargers (slower rates of charge) offered for about $500 (domestic) and even lower pricing for overseas units. Yet there is no viable economic argument to import a boat-load of EV chargers without established markets. Few electric vehicles are on the road today. So for now, they will also stick with local makers.
Utilities or integrators are likely to support system providers who integrate the hardware and software well. Here there is a clear opportunity for offshore providers who have completely integrated offerings to make a dent, while the lion’s share will remain, in the short term, with local makers.
Consumers. We just want it fast, easy, cheap and available. We don’t really care what flag is wrapped around it. Oh, some might say they do, but then they run to buy imported electronics and other wares each and every day without blinking an eye, so we’ll do the same thing here.
The key for any EV charger maker to survive is to anticipate and be proactive in creating the market, not simply reacting to it. And just in case anyone thinks that even the automotive OEM makers are not looking overseas, just take a look under the hood of any of their “industrial” battery chargers at their staging or distribution facilities….today, they are usually made in China.
As for solar charging of EVs, I am coming to believe that integrated approaches to power generation, management and storage are the only way to make things “plugNplay”. The question is who will have the marketing and technological abilities to bring such solutions to market. Putting up a nice solar power canopy, as sunlogics is delivering, is a great way to advance both the awareness and reality of greener energy technologies, yet making everything work together is what I’m hoping we see a lot more of in the near future…
Sass