A new survey shows Americans are hesitant to fully invest in electric vehicles. EVPassport co-founder and CEO Hooman Shahidi appears on Asking for a Trend to discuss the growth of the EV market.
EVPassport is an infrastructure-focused electric vehicle charging platform, and Shahidi explains that “the opportunity is incredibly big” for the company in the current EV market, where demand for chargers is on the rise.
Looking at the industry as a whole, Shahidi is bullish on the electric vehicle trend. “At the end of the day, people are seeing the economic value, and the programs that governments have put in place have played a big role in pushing us there, allowing investment in the sector to really take off,” he explains. He adds, “The labor market is full of opportunity. We have over 200 certified EV Passport partners in our network, many of whom are leveraging new programs with trade schools to keep up with the ongoing demand.”
For more expert insights and the latest market trends, click here to watch the full episode of “Ask the Trends.”
This post was written by Melanie Leal
Video Transcript
The Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles faces several obstacles.
A new survey finds that Americans are hesitant to fully transition to electric vehicles.
In a recent survey, only 21% of adults said they were very or extremely likely to buy an EV as their next car, with potential buyers’ top concerns being charging time availability and vehicle range.
Now we’re joined by Uman Shahidi, co-founder and CEO of charging infrastructure company EV Passport Huma, great to have you here.
You probably start off hearing that it’s an EV hardware software company, but that may not be as familiar to your audience.
Um, tell us a little bit about the company’s mission.
What problem are you trying to solve and what is the demand?
no doubt.
Thank you for inviting me.
EV Passport is an electric vehicle charging platform focused on providing infrastructure as a service.
So, we are a turnkey solution that handles the end-to-end value proposition for the entire asset owner and our clientele is more diverse than ever before.
The company operates in 35 states, as well as Canada and Mexico, and raised $200 million last year to support its growth.
So, looking at your market, what kind of growth do you see happening over the next 135 years, and how would you model that?
The opportunity is incredible and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s to come.
In fact, the recent news about Tesla is sad news about people losing their jobs.
But it creates an opportunity for us and fundamentally we don’t believe in a competitive environment.
I believe we have a chance to go after that wallet chair.
This is also an opportunity for me to talk about our platform, focusing on reaching software customers, leveraging open APIs, and delivering on the mission of the Biden Administration.
Because this critical infrastructure is so important to the infrastructure of tomorrow.
And the Huma II hopes to capture broader trends in the EV market.
You know, we mentioned at the beginning here, Humam is growing, but it’s not growing as fast as it used to.
Why do you think it’s a hum and what do you think causes it?
Do you think it’s actually growing fast?
Just last week, Ford announced that 65 percent of new vehicles sold are plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles.
So, I think the trend is bullish.
Sometimes headlines are funny because people see the output.
Well, infrastructure is a lot like an iceberg.
It takes a long time to travel and reach your destination.
But at the end of the day, people recognize the economic value, and the programs that the administration put in place played a big role in providing the impetus to get us there.
And investment in this sector has really picked up steam.
And, you know, there’s an election coming up soon.
Umana, you seem to be pretty happy with the current administration, but if there was a change in administration, if there was a change in the White House, how do you think that would affect your business?
Well, we’ve built a business focused on reliability, security and a path to profitability, right?
This means that customers are our number one stakeholder.
And at the end of the day, keeping our customers successful is very important to us.
It’s the lifeblood that allows us to continue to grow.
But either way, we think the tailwinds that the administration is supporting will help business and accelerate EV adoption, meaning we’ll get out of here with this rather than any potential changes at 1600 Pennsylvania.
Um, I’m interested to see how you build this infrastructure.
Can you find enough workers right now — enough electricians — to get the job done?
This is an ongoing challenge, but perhaps also an opportunity.
So, you know, more than ever, there’s investment being made in careers and other areas that will prepare the electricians of the future and allow them to earn good money too.
So, in that respect, the labour market is full of opportunities.
Well, we have great partners.
We have over 200 certified EV Passport partners in our network.
And many companies are taking advantage of new programs with vocational schools to meet the ongoing demand.
Thank you so much for joining us on the show today.
It was a very interesting conversation.
I will continue to do so.
thank you.
Okay.
Thank you for inviting me.
