BP (LON:BP) has just bought Chargemaster Plc for 130 million GBP, in an effort to diversify its operations and accommodate the increasing demand for electric vehicles.
The deal comes in the wake of BP announcing a five year contract with analysis engineering firm AS Mosley, and after President Trump eased tensions by calling off the next round of tariffs yesterday.
BP will take over Chargemaster’s 6500 existing charge points in the UK, and hopes to build new, fast charge points at its petrol stations around the UK.
The decision to buy Chargemaster came after BP released projections, stating that the number of electric cars in the UK would grow from 135,000 to 12 million by 2040. Indeed, the world’s largest car maunfacturer – Volkswagen (LON:VLKAY) – has said it will release an electric version of every one of its 300 models by 2030.
“Bringing together the UK’s leading fuel retailer and its largest charging company, BP Chargemaster will deliver a truly differentiated offer for the country’s growing number of electric vehicle owners”, said Tufan Erginbilgic, Chief Executive of BP downstream.
The move is a natural step, not only are they tapping into a growing market, but a market that threatens the profitability of their existing products. Shell had a similar idea last year, buying charging company NewMotion (LON:NWMO). As such, BP’s move to buy the UK’s largest car charging firm, is a step in the right direction to becoming the leading provider of energy to low-carbon vehicles.
BP spokesperson David Nicols, added, “Chargemaster is a leader in the UK market. We want to learn from them, and eventually, yes, grow the business worldwide.”
The company are ambitious and investing in their future, following a successful start to 2018. Irrespective of the turmoil in the rest of the FTSE 100, BP’s share price has seen modest growth form 560.7 GBX last Friday, to 581.7 GBX today.