As the world has entered the EV era, and EV adoption is only going to increase with time, the oil firms have decided to embrace this change. A decade ago, only a few companies were planning to produce mainstream EVs, with time the automobile giants began to embrace this revolution as well, and today you have EVs from a number of manufacturers.
We have also seen new start-ups joining this space and providing EV charging, like Instavolt. The share of oil in transport is not going to decrease in the next decade or even after, buy by 2049, in countries like the UK, it could drop to 17%. So, it’s understandable why oil companies are looking for a new strategy to sustain in the future. Some companies might opt to provide carbon-neutral synthetic fuels in a few decades, but others like BP and Shell have different plans. They are becoming directly involved in the EV charging space. This move from them has been appreciated by many, and we can see why.
Rachel MacLean, the UK transport minister said that they support an independent network of charging infrastructure, which can be accessed by all drivers. The government of the UK is determined to meet its net-zero commitments, so we appreciate what BP and Shell are doing.
But the government isn’t the only entity that has welcomed this, the users are also happy. The joint-managing director of Zap-Map, Ben Lane said the decision from the oil giants to enter the EV field is positive news for the sector. But, he feels, they have been a little slow in their move, mainly because they have to change their business models. He also said the market is shifting, with every year we will see a decrease in the sales of traditional vehicles, and the oil firms realize this. They need to respond to this shift in the market. Both companies plan to invest heavily and their product quality is good too.