ChargePoint Raises $82 Million to Pave the Way for e-Mobility in Europe
Daimler leads funding round, underscores collective commitment to establishing the continent's most comprehensive electric vehicle charging network ever developed
CAMPBELL, California and STUTTGART, Germany, March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ChargePoint, the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network, today announced it has secured an initial $82 million in funding, part of a larger multi-million dollar fundraise, led by Daimler. The first close of the company's latest fundraising round is the largest in the Silicon Valley company's history. The investment will support the expansion of the company's charging network into Europe, enabling the region to complete the shift to e-mobility.
Existing investors BMW i Ventures, Linse Capital, Rho Capital Partners, and Braemar Energy Ventures also participated in this latest fundraising round. To date, ChargePoint has raised more than $255 million, a testament to ChargePoint's proven business model that underscores a collective commitment to electric mobility worldwide. As more types of vehicles become electrified, such as trucks and buses, this new funding will help ensure ChargePoint is ready.
"The automobile industry is at an inflection point, with more vehicles coming onto the market offering highly advanced electric powertrains than any other time in the world's history," said Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint. "The significant investment by our lead investor Daimler and others not only underscores a collective commitment to e-mobility around the world, but lays the groundwork for Europe's most comprehensive charging network."
ChargePoint already makes it easy for drivers in North America to charge an EV everywhere they go, with more than 33,000 charging ports where they can refuel. Thousands of drivers have selected ChargePoint to meet EV charging needs with more than 6,500 companies selecting the brand for their employees, customers, fleets and tenants. Now, ChargePoint is committed to bringing EV drivers in Europe the same level of convenience that makes the charging experience effortless.
ChargePoint also announced the appointment of Daimler AG executive Axel Harries to the company's Board of Directors. Harries has a deep history with Daimler, serving in a number of management roles including Vice President of Quality and Director of Mercedes-Benz G GmbH, as well as on teams including Commercial Vehicles and e-Business. In his current role, Harries is responsible for shaping the newly established CASE-unit within Daimler (Connected, Autonomous, Sharing & Services, and Electric Drive), charged with developing technologies and innovations for next generation Mercedes-Benz vehicles, particularly the new electric product brand, EQ.
"While pursuing the systematic expansion of our CASE ecosystem based on our new product brand EQ, we also remain open and ready for partnerships and cooperation at the highest level. ChargePoint is a company of experts in the field of electric mobility charging solutions with a great deal of know-how in both hardware and software. Together we will be able to significantly expand our product portfolio in the area of intelligent charging solutions and provide the customer with an all-embracing premium offer for electric mobility," he said.
ChargePoint is the only company that offers a charging solution for every part of an EV driver's life—at home, at work, around town and on the road. This comprehensive product portfolio positions ChargePoint to offer the right innovation for each market in Europe and meet a variety of driver needs. Painstakingly engineered by EV charging experts, ChargePoint hardware and software solutions make it easy for drivers to charge and simple for station owners to manage with custom access controls, pricing and reporting tools, among other smart features. In addition to advancing e-mobility in the region with innovative technology, ChargePoint will build on its long history in North America of promoting EV-friendly policies through partnerships with policymakers, utilities and automakers in Europe.
More than 20 European countries already provide attractive incentives for purchasing EVs, which has helped make Europe the world's second-largest EV market. As more EVs hit more European roads, the need for a comprehensive charging network is more important than ever. Currently, there are dozens of providers of EV charging hardware, software and driver networks in a fragmented market. They all work differently and often require drivers to sign up for separate accounts, which creates a confusing and cumbersome charging experience for EV drivers.
ChargePoint is committed to being the first company to introduce a complete charging solution that serves EV drivers in Europe everywhere they go. By collaborating with innovative companies like Daimler, one of the largest producers of premium vehicles and a world leader and pioneer in automotive electrification, ChargePoint will be able to lay the foundation for Europe's most comprehensive and intelligent charging network.
About ChargePoint
ChargePoint is the largest and most open electric vehicle (EV) charging network in the world, with more than 33,000 independently owned charging spots and more than 7,000 sites that are easy for EV drivers to find and use at home, at work, around town and on the road. Leading EV hardware makers and other partners rely on the ChargePoint network to make charging station details available in mobile apps, online and in navigation systems for popular EVs. ChargePoint drivers have completed more than 21 million charging sessions, saving upwards of 21 million gallons of gasoline and driving more than 525 million gas-free miles. For more information, visit www.chargepoint.com or contact the Media Relations team at media@chargepoint.com.
About Daimler AG
Daimler AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With its Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses, and Daimler Financial Services divisions, the Group is one of the leading global suppliers of premium cars and is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles. Daimler Financial Services offers financing, leasing, fleet management, insurance, investments and credit cards as well as innovative mobility services.
The company founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history by inventing the automobile in 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Daimler continues to shape the future of mobility today by focusing on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior vehicles that captivate and inspire. Daimler consistently invests in the development of alternative drive trains – from hybrid cars to full electric vehicles with battery and fuel cell – with the goal of making zero-emission driving possible in the long term. Moreover, the company is actively promoting accident-free driving and intelligent networking all the way through to self-driving cars. This is just one example of how Daimler willingly accepts the challenge of meeting its responsibility towards society and the environment.
Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly all countries of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. In addition to Mercedes-Benz, which is the world's most valuable premium automotive brand, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes me, Daimler's current brand portfolio also includes smart, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, FUSO, Setra and Thomas Built Buses, as well as the Daimler Financial Services brands Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial, Daimler Truck Financial, moovel, car2go and mytaxi. The company is listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges (ticker symbol DAI). In 2015, the Group employed a total workforce of 284,015 and sold some 2.9 million vehicles. Revenue totalled €149.5 billion and EBIT amounted to €13.2 billion.
About CASE
CASE – these letters will shape the future of Mercedes-Benz Cars. They stand for the strategic pillars of connectivity (Connected), autonomous driving (Autonomous), flexible use (Shared & Services) and electric drive systems (Electric), which will be intelligently combined with one another by the company. Mercedes-Benz Cars already plays a leading role in all four areas. For example, all activities in the area of connectivity are focused on the digital brand Mercedes me, which gives customers access to an extensive and personalised range of services by app, website or straight from their car. On the way to autonomous driving, Mercedes-Benz has for years been a key driver of development and has repeatedly set the benchmark. To this end, the Mercedes engineers use what is known as sensor fusion. The data from different sensors, such as cameras, ultrasound and radar, are intelligently combined and analysed. When it comes to the matter of sharing, too, the inventor of the car is a pioneer with car2go. With some two million users the company is the world's biggest supplier when it comes to free-floating car-sharing. Mercedes-Benz is pursuing a holistic approach regarding the electrification of the drive train. Apart from the EQ brand with a family of vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is also developing a holistic ecosystem, which, alongside the vehicle itself, also comprises a comprehensive range of electric mobility-related offerings. This extends from intelligent services to energy storage units for private and commercial customers as well as charging technologies, such as inductive charging, to sustainable recycling. The activities are bundled into a new organisation in order to drive forward the equal development of all four pillars.
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