How Evergo plans to install EV charging infrastructure across Mexico

Evergo will invest US$200mn to install 15,000 charging points in Mexico over a decade, part of efforts to deploy the largest and most sophisticated EV charging network in the Americas.

The plan also entails alliances with major players like Volvo and BMW.

To learn more about the company's business model and its 10-year plan, BNamericas talks to commercial director Daniel López. Evergo started operations in Mexico in November.

BNamericas: What is Evergo’s current business model?

López: The company has been in operation for eight years, but we started as Evergo in 2023 and came to Mexico through the acquisition of local electromobility company E-Drive. Eight of 10 loaders in Mexico – residential, fleet and public cargo – were supplied, installed and are operated by Evergo.

We operate in eight additional markets, where we have shares above 90%. So, we are a major player and very focused on addressing the need for public charging.

For Mexico, we announced a 10-year business plan involving the installation and launch of more than 15,000 charging points. We are dividing practically half into alternating current chargers and half into direct current or fast chargers. Crucially, in Mexico the charging standard is 7kW. Our chargers go at 19kW, which is the maximum given by the type 1 format, the most used one in Mexico.

And at the fast charging level, the standard in Mexico was 25-50kW. We start at 50kW, but normally we install 150kW and reach up to 400kW for passenger or commercial vehicles and up to 600kW for public transport vehicles, heavy vehicles, steel industry, cement, etc.

We are really a software company connected through technology developed by us.

BNamericas: Under the plan, Evergo will double investments to install a north-south charging corridor. Could you provide some details?

López: In Mexico alone, for the first five years, we are making the largest historical investment in charging infrastructure, which is US$200mn. And that's just part of the project. Still, after the first 5,000 charging stations, we need 10,000 more. Then, new investments will come because we believe the conditions in the country lend themselves to venturing into electric mobility.

We start with the main urban areas that are Mexico City, Querétaro, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Mérida, Yucatán, Tijuana. We divide it into four phases. Address the urban need first and address the surrounding sites in a radius of 150km. The second phase covers 300km, the third phase 500km and the last phase more than 500km. In this way, 100% of the national urban and highway areas would be covered with public charging infrastructure coast to coast, border to border.

BNamericas: Can you talk about your alliances? Evergo and Volvo Cars sealed one under which the latter will operate three charging networks by 2025.

López: We have several alliances. Right now we have announced a very interesting agreement for Mexico with the BMW Group because all BMW vehicles sold from 2014 to 2017 include Evergo charging services. With BMW, we not only install each charger sold at the customer's home, we equip the car company’s agencies and build the ChargeNow network, which belongs to Evergo since last year. They also access our charging network, subsidized by BMW, to facilitate the transition toward paying for electric energy.

And the same thing happens with Volvo, where we have an agreement with similar characteristics in six countries. And we have agreements, for example, with the Volkswagen Group, under which we are installing 150kW chargers on 10 roads in Mexico, in the main tourist destinations.

BNamericas: Where do the funding and energy resources come from?

López: Evergo's funding is our own. We belong to InterEnergy Group in Latin America. We have, in fact, generation, distribution and commercialization of energy, focused on renewable energy. We have 2GW of capacity or installed base. The load we give to our stations is renewable but there are countries, such as Mexico, where we buy the energy from the electricity supplier, in this case [public utility CFE].

In Mexico, 30% of the energy comes from renewable sources and the supplier with the greatest coverage is CFE. For that reason, the group's decision has been to buy from them, for the moment.

BNamericas: How has the criticism of the regulatory framework and a lack of federal incentives impacted Evergo’s strategy for the country?

López: I would say that these are different industry moments. We have more than 25,000 chargers installed in Mexico, and all of them during the same regulatory environment. What is happening is that the public charging network is no longer free and is beginning to be seen as a business. Why? Because there is already a significant volume of vehicles, not only individual ones but also fleets and public transportation, and all of them require a charging point. And to guarantee the operation of the network one has to collect money.

This is a new market, which basically begins this year with the arrival of Evergo, with the start of collections by Tesla. I would say that we are the main drivers of the industry, so it is a different moment for CFE.

Now, has the role of electricity suppliers been greatly misunderstood? We have complained a lot, historically, many complained to CFE: why don’t they have preferential rates? Because the kilowatt is cheaper, and to begin with, CFE is not responsible for setting rates, that is up to the CRE. The main problem is understanding the responsibilities and powers of each government organization within the energy sector.

BNamericas: In late August, CFE said it received several requests for EV charging center permits. But CRE has not published related guidelines, leading to some confusion. Can charging operators sell services or not?

López: Yes, the commercialization of energy is allowed when we talk about electric vehicle charging stations. CRE has a specific publication for investments and energy sales through charging stations that are permitted. In fact, just before landing in Mexico, we did part of our due diligence: a legal analysis of our business model, and we validated that it is permitted.

Also Read: EV players debunk electricity reselling myth in Mexico

BNamericas: What else would you like to add?

López: We like to go a little further. We inaugurated the northern electric route [on October 9]. Today we have 10 countries connected with charging infrastructure from Mexico to Peru and in each one you can access a charging point. Not all of them are operated by Evergo. It is collaborative work with companies and associations.

What Evergo wants to do is unite cities, unite roads, unite states and why not also unite countries and continents with public charging infrastructure.