EVgo Names President; CTO and Chief Revenue Officer Exiting EV Charging Company

EVgo has named Chief Operating Officer Dennis Kish to the president post, while Chief Technology Officer Ivo Steklac and Chief Revenue Officer Tanvi Chaturvedi will depart the electric vehicle (EV) charging company.

The changes are designed to simplify and consolidate the company's business development, marketing and technology functions -- all of which now report to Kish, EVgo said. Steklac will serve as a strategic advisor to the company during a transition period and will depart during 2024 -- though exact timing was not disclosed. Chaturvedi is expected to remain in her role at EVgo through the end of February 2024, the company added.

Steklac has been with EVgo since 2018. Chaturvedi, a Google Nest veteran, has been with EVgo since Janury 2022.

EVgo Financial Performance: As part of the announcement, EVgo reinforced that it expects to meet or exceed the company's financial and operating goals for fiscal year 2023. But the company has not yet announced a specific date for disclosing those official financial results.

EVgo, founded in 2010, is based in Los Angeles, California. The company operates more than 950 fast charging locations across 35 states and 65 metropolitan areas. EVgo's partner program spans automakers, governments and utilities.

EV Charger Infrastructure and EV Automobile Sales: Market Headwinds, Challenges

The EVgo changes come amid challenging times for some EV charging infrastructure companies an EV automobile makers. Among the anecdotal market challenges to note:

• Staff Cuts: ChargePoint layoffs will impact 12% of its workforce, the company said in January 2024. This is the EV charger company's second round of job cuts in the past four months. Indeed, ChargePoint cut 10% of its staff in September 2023.
• EV Sales Challenges: After a strong start in early 2023, the overall electric vehicle (EV) market has faced growing headwinds in recent months. Sales of EVs are still growing -- but not as quickly as previously forecast. Among the data points to note: In early 2023, the average EV sold after 36 days on a dealer's lot. That figured more than doubled to 80 days in September 2023, according to a Cloud Theory EV report.
• EV Charger Quality, Competition: EV charging network buildouts have faced reliability and competitive challenges. Amid that backdrop, numerous EV car companies are embracing Tesla's North America Charging Standard (NACS) while also building EV charging alliances without Telsa.
• Government Bureaucracy: Federal red tape and bureaucracy have undermined The Biden Administration's effort to drive an EV charger revolution, The Wall Street Journal alleged in an editorial.

Further complicating matters, rising interest rates in 2023 made it more expensive and/or cost prohibitive for some EV-focused businesses to finance corporate expansion this past year.

Still, the overall EV charging market remains in growth mode. Indeed, the EV charger market should reach about $123.04 billion in 2032, up from $35.47 billion in 2023, according to Custom Market Insights. That's a 27% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the research firm said.

EVgo Executive Changes, Reorganization: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the EVgo reorganization, CEO Badar Khan said: “EVgo has continued to drive impressive throughput growth on our network and top-line growth across the Company as we remain relentlessly focused on delivering the ultimate customer experience and highest quality fast-charging solutions for EV drivers. We believe this realignment and resource optimization will allow EVgo to become leaner and more focused on our owned and operated public charging network and will position us for acceleration towards achieving profitability targets while driving superior shareholder returns in the long run.”

Khan also thanked Steklac and Chaturvedi for their contributions to the company.

We'll be watching EVgo for an official earnings announcement date, and analyzing the results at that time.