If electric cars are the future, then this business is set to go far. Very far
Electric cars are going to be big. The Chevvy Volt, the G-Whizz, the Nissan Leaf and the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid are already on the market.
But who will charge these silent beauties?
That’s the job of Pod Point. It is the specialist maker of electric vehicle charging units. It also writes the software that manages the charging to ensure cars aren’t over-juiced with electricity.
The firm’s timing couldn’t have been better.
In 2009, the Pod Point consisted of two men, a prototype and a vision to deliver electric vehicle charging infrastructure for the UK and Europe. In 2009, the firm sold two charge points. By the end of 2010-11 it had shipped 89 units. Now shipments are in the thousands and growing like topsy. Export orders have been received from the Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
Pod Point claims to have pioneered the concept of networked EV charging – allowing charge point usage data to be collected remotely and for commands to be sent from an online portal. Today, it says, all charge networks in the UK are now built on this principle. We also like that the company keeps pushing the boundaries in electric charging technology; no complacency here.
Crucially Pod Point has achieved all this with only a smidgen of angel funding; no government subsidies were abused. So no matter which manufacturer dominates the market, or what the government chooses to do to stimulate the green-car market, Pod Point knows it can thrive.