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Cox Automotive expects a new record for EV sales this year. J.D. Power expects bupkis, which is a pretty good guess considering the all-but-death of the NEVI public charging station program and the off-the-cliff catastrophe happening over Tesla. Who is right? For some clues, let’s take a look at ripe opportunity that emerges when more EV charging stations are installed at multifamily buildings.
EV Charging & Multifamily Buildings
For the record, it’s not just about NEVI, which President Trump summarily — and illegally — suspended. The President of the United States continues to reverse decades of federal policy going back to the Clean Air Act of 1970, in violation of a steady stream of court orders. Concerned? Contact your representatives in Congress.
Suspending NEVI in midstream certainly won’t help EV sales, but then again it might not have much of an impact in the great scheme of things, considering the precarious state of the US economy during Trump’s tenure in office. With inflation stuck on high and consumer confidence in free fall, gasmobile sales are also at risk of a sales slump.
Be that as it may, people who live in multifamily buildings represent a new, relatively untapped market for EV sales. EVs have been competitive with gasmobiles on total cost of ownership for years, automakers are finally introducing more affordable EVs, and recharging at a parking spot overnight is more convenient than detouring out to a gas station.
The problem is that EV owners overwhelmingly prefer to charge at home, but multifamily property owners are not particularly keen on paying up front to install chargers for their tenants.
Now, let’s follow the money…
The EV Charging Station Bottleneck, Broken
The multifamily market is ripe indeed. Last year, Ford CEO Jim Farley cited an estimate of 19 million for the number of people in the US who are EV-curious. However, according to a survey commissioned by Ford, 90% of prospective EV buyers won’t go prospecting unless they can charge at home.
According to the National Multifamily Housing Council, 39% of renters live in apartment buildings and 45.6 million households are renters. Doing the math, that adds up to a big slice of the untapped EV sales pie.
Solutions are beginning to surface on the CleanTechnica radar. One example popped up last August, when the startup 3V Infrastructure introduced a new business model for installing Level 2 EV charging stations at multifamily buildings of 20 units or more.
“Research indicates that 27% of apartment tenants are interested in EV charging as an amenity yet fewer than 5% of rental properties offer it,” 3V noted. Other targets include hotels and other locations where parking overnight is commonplace.
The 3V model enables property owners to offer that amenity without paying up front. The company’s EV charging-as-a-service model covers all installation, operation, and maintenance costs. They also take care of permit applications, utility connections, and other tasks that would otherwise fall upon the property manager.
Follow The Money
3V launched with a $40 million commitment from an affiliate of the firm Greenbacker Capital Management, and they have not been letting the grass grow under their feet. On February 25, 3V announced a new EV charging station partnership with CBRE, described as “the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm.”
That’s about as big as you can get. “CBRE will utilize its extensive network of commercial property owners to help match 3V with multifamily properties looking to provide residents with a reliable EV charging amenity,” 3V explains.
Under the partnership, CBRE will take care of the installation. The finance, ownership, and operation all come under the 3V umbrella. The arrangement also provides for 3V to install additional charging stations at buildings where demand rises past the initial number of stations.
“Our partnership with 3V Infrastructure aligns with CBRE’s strategy of empowering property owners to best serve the needs of their residents,” emphasized CBRE VP of Charging Solutions Mark Kerstens, in an echo of the “consumer choice” theme deployed by automakers.
Multifamily buildings are just for starters. In a press statement, 3V also indicated that it will work with CBRE to install more EV charging stations at other types of buildings.
Big Bucks Bet On The Electric Vehicle Transition
CBRE provides a good indication that the electric vehicle transition will continue to accelerate globally, if not here in the US. The company’s EV Charging Station Solutions branch offers a soup-to-nuts fleet electrification package.
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