In Cooperation with Avis
SK E&S announced on Jan. 29 that it has started running a large-scale electric vehicle (EV) charging station at George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas, along with Avis, one of the top three rent-a-car companies in the United States. This marks the first time that a Korean company builds large-scale charging infrastructure in the United States.
SK E&S entered the U.S. EV charging market in March 2022 by taking over EverCharge Inc., an EV charging company, through U.S. investment company PassKey. Established in California in 2013, EverCharge is a comprehensive charging solution company capable of manufacturing EV chargers and operating charging stations. It operates about 4,600 EV chargers in North America.
More than 800,000 EVs were sold in the United States last year, accounting for 5.8 percent of the total vehicle sales in the country. In particular, the sales figure represented an increase of more than 80 percent from 2021.
According to the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the U.S. EV charging market is expected to grow rapidly from 1.84 million chargers in 2020 to 20 million in 2030, marking an average annual growth rate of 27 percent.
Currently, there are about 43,000 EV charging stations in operation in the United States. Tesla and ChargePoint account for two-thirds of them. Global automakers such as GM and Mercedes-Benz, as well as large car rental companies, are building charging stations all over the United States in partnership with specialized companies to catch up with Tesla.
In addition, Amazon and Starbucks are also starting EV charging services within this year. Late last year, Tesla suggested opening some of its dedicated EV charging stations to competitors’ vehicles. Among Korean companies, SK E&S and LG Electronics have announced plans to enter the North American EV charging market.