More EVs, More Chargers - What about profits?

EV charging in Europe is entering a new phase

For years, the industry focused primarily on scale: building more chargers, expanding quickly and securing locations before competitors did. That phase is now coming to an end.

The latest EV Charging Outlook 2026 describes a market that is becoming more mature. Demand continues to rise, and adoption is moving beyond early adopters. At the same time, he path to sustainable profitability is becoming a key requirement for investors, prompting operators to reassess how they grow.

EV charging is no longer primarily a land-grab market. It is becoming an commercially and operationally sophisticated business that must demonstrate financial discipline and performance, where the mass market does not tolerate subpar user experience. 

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EV adoption is growing again — but uneven

After a period of uncertainty, momentum is improving. EVs already make up more than 20% of new car sales in several large European markets. By 2035, that figure is expected to land somewhere between 70% and 96% of new sales. However, the transition remains uneven.

There are still significant differences between countries. Norway is approaching full electrification of new car sales, while other markets remain at an earlier stage.

For investors, this variation creates complexity that they need to navigate through a more granular, local-level understanding of market dynamics and unit economics. It remains unclear where demand will accelerate most quickly, where infrastructure will be built at what pace, and how soon utilisation rates will improve.

Charging demand will more than double by 2035

The underlying fundamentals remain strong. European charging demand is projected to hit roughly 200 TWh by 2035, driven by a steep rise in the number of BEVs on the road.

By 2035, Europe is expected to have: 

• 50–60 million private charge points

• 3–4 million public charge points

The shape of demand is shifting too. Public charging will account for a larger slice of total energy consumption — moving from around 30% in 2021 to 40–45% by 2035.

This is significant. It shifts value away from hardware installation and towards operational performance, including utilisation, uptime and the quality of the customer experience with a mix of software and hardware to achieve it. 

The key challenge: Site selection and portfolio optimisation

Charging infrastructure has scaled quickly. In several markets, it has actually outpaced EV adoption.

This helped reduce range anxiety, but it also created a new challenge: uneven utilisation with some assets being very profitable, whilst others materially underutilised.

Low utilisation eats away at profitability: 

• Revenue depends on energy sold

• Fixed costs don't budge

• Payback periods drag on

• Anticipating which areas will see demand accelerate most quickly, where infrastructure will be more urgently required, and how soon utilisation rates will improve remains a source of competitive advantage

Across Europe, utilisation profiles vary considerably. Some markets lack sufficient chargers, while others have too much capacity in low-demand locations given the current EV driver demand. 

As a result, the industry is shifting its focus from expansion to performance.

Charging operators are becoming more selective

The shift is already showing up in the numbers.

According to our Strategy& CPO barometer survey of leading European players, roughly 72% of charge point operators say they're moving toward more selective investment strategies. 

Rather than adding capacity broadly, operators are increasingly focusing on:

• High-traffic locations

• Sites with predictable utilisation

• Faster payback 

Utilisation and asset productivity are now among the top priorities for almost 60% of operators. This marks a clear shift in mindset, where location quality is becoming more important than network size alone.

Customer experience is becoming a real differentiator

Until recently, charging was often treated as a purely functional service. This is changing.

More than half of operators now say customer experience is a key driver of where drivers choose to charge. 

The basics still count:

• Reliability

• Easy payment

• Transparent pricing 

However, expectations are increasing. Customers compare charging with other retail and mobility experiences.

Poor uptime and failed charging sessions are becoming less acceptable.

Operators that address these expectations effectively can differentiate themselves, even in competitive markets – and the ecosystem is evaluating how deployment of AI can help to address this.

Profitability has become a core focus area for the industry

Despite strong market growth, many operators are still not profitable on EBITDA level let alone on Free Cash Flow basis.

The reasons are familiar:

• High upfront investments

• Low utilisation in the early years 

• Tougher competition

• Investing in growth as well as operational teams

In addition, energy costs remain the largest single cost item. Margins come down to how well that cost is managed — through pricing, hedging, and operational efficiency. 

Whilst progress is not uniform, the direction of travel is positive overall. Around 82% of operators report better EBITDA than a year ago, and most expect further gains.

Scale still matters. Larger operators tend to outperform, partly because they can spread costs and fine-tune networks across many sites.

The market is still fragmented but larger platforms gaining market share 

No single player dominates the European market. The number of operators needed to cover 80% of the charging infrastructure is rising rather than falling.

Consolidation is happening in pockets, including Norway, but not yet at a European level.

Meanwhile:

• Larger operators are scaling quickly 

• Cross-border expansion is on the rise

• Smaller players are also scaling, and some are struggling to keep pace

More than two-thirds of fast chargers are already in the hands of players with 1,000+ charge points.

This trend is expected to continue. 

Ecosystem positioning, technology and operations will decide who wins

Hardware is no longer the main bottleneck.

The action has moved to:

• Partnerships (for locations, loyalty programs, bundling etc.) 

• Software platforms

• Data and analytics

• Automation

Operators are putting money into: 

• In-house software capabilities

• AI for site selection and optimisation

• Network monitoring and predictive maintenance

• Site experience (branding, improved spaces etc.) 

The objective is clear: improve uptime and the customer experience, and increase the amount of energy delivered per charger.

By 2035, average energy delivered per charger is expected to increase substantially. Ultimately, this is what will support stronger profitability.

The journey to profitability

Over the long term, the business case for EV charging remains intact. The unit economics and IRR of public fast charging stations are heavily impacted by the utilisation levels, which have several structural tailwinds supporting stronger economics over time: 

• More EVs per charger

• Greater reliance on public charging

• Faster charging speeds, enabling more sessions per day on the same charger

• Better use of the infrastructure already in the ground 

• Plus, increased use of batteries and energy mgmt. solutions

The unit economics can reap great scaling benefits due to the high share of fixed costs and strong potential in increasing utilisation to boost revenue and shrink payback periods. The gap between cost and revenue is expected to narrow. However, it will not close without active management.

Operators have to actively manage:

• Pricing models 

• Site selection

• Operational efficiency (optimising energy and Operating platform SW costs)

• Partnerships and monitisation across the energy ecosystem

Companies that treat charging as a retail, operations and ecosystem business, rather than simply as fixed infrastructure, are likely to gain an advantage. 

From expansion to execution

Growth alone will no longer be enough. Operators must demonstrate that the business model works: that chargers generate sufficient utilisation, that customers return, and that networks can expand without costs escalating disproportionately.

The next phase will not be measured only by the number of chargers installed.

It will be measured by how effectively those chargers are used and how operators realize the potential advantages of scale and portfolio optimization.

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