The focus of media attention in the green vehicle market rests on automakers like Nissan, Toyota and General Motors. Pike Research recently published Pike Pulse Report: Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment, an assessment of the leading suppliers of EV charging and vehicle components. This report broke down electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) manufacturers into categories including Leaders, Contenders, Challengers and Followers. Coulomb Technologies appears to be the leading firm among ten manufacturers reviewed by Pike Research. Automakers might benefit from the marketability of eco-friendly vehicles but consumers should not ignore EVSE companies that make those vehicles possible.
Pike Research used ten criteria to separate the wheat from the chaff in the EVSE market. Elements like product strategy, execution and market partners focus on corporate politics as much as technical achievement. Pike Pulse Report looked at product performance, pricing and technological development to assess if an EVSE supplier can bring the goods. The Pike Research team also assessed geographical reach, marketing, price share and staying power for each company.
Coulomb Technologies leaped ahead of the competition thanks to their early successes in attracting clients. The California-based firm achieved first place in the Product Strategy and Execution categories. Runner-up ECOtality was close behind in both categories but was first in Market Partners thanks to an agreement to manage the U.S. Department of Energy’s EV project. Additional members of the Contenders category were Elektromotive and AeroVironment, which achieved this status thanks to exceptional technical expertise. Pike Pulse Report rounded out the report by listing Leviton, Eaton, General Electric, Siemens, ClipperCreek and GoSmart in the lesser Challengers category.
The conclusions of the Pike Pulse Report are a mixed blessing for the global EV market. The absence of a true leader using Pike Research’s parlance means that the EVSE sector is stuck in the middle. Coulomb, Elektromotive and other competitors are clustered together for myriad reasons including budget debates at the state and federal level. Pike Pulse Report indicates that Coulomb is in the best position to leap ahead but have failed to take the crown. This mushy middle should be seen as advantageous, however, as EVSE manufacturers are engaged in heated competition for corporate clients. Competition among the ten producers in this report should spur creativity, lower prices and meet the increasing needs of EV producers.
