‘It’s about fast chargers’ – Volvo Cars global boss on next push, Tesla deal

Increasing the number of fast chargers available to drivers is key to the next phase of growth for electric vehicles, according to Volvo Cars Global CEO, Jim Rowan.

Analysts dialling into the company’s second quarter results noted a near tripling of Volvo’s EV sales during Q2, up 178 per cent versus a year earlier, but asked whether carmakers should be worried about the slower pace of charging infrastructure rollouts.

Rowan said money is now starting to flow into faster charging – in Europe at least, with the US to follow.

“You’re starting to see some external investment going in and some big private equity players getting involved in investing in the long term infrastructure for electrification. That will continue,” he said.

He suggested those investors recognise speed of charge will be crucial as EV penetration increases.

“It is not about the number of chargers per se, it’s about the number of fast chargers – and that is the shift that you are starting to see now,” said Rowan.

“It’s fine if you have a big installation of AC chargers, but in many cases that takes too long to charge for the consumer. So you need to now build out an infrastructure of DC chargers, 50kW to 150kW preferably,” he added.

“That is what we are starting to see happen and I think that will continue. Our intelligence tells us that we are starting to see a lot more interest and investments being made in that [area]. But I am speaking specifically about Europe.”

Other markets are less mature. But Rowan thinks the US, which last year passed legislation giving tax breaks for EVs, including second hand vehicles, may soon begin to catch up.

“When you look at the Inflation Reduction Act in the USA, that is going to drive a tremendous amount of investment into charging infrastructure across the USA,” said Rowan “That will only be a good thing for the entire EV industry.”

In the meantime, he pointed to Volvo Cars’ recent deal with Tesla to use its Supercharger network in the US, Canada and Mexico as a means to move the dial.

**Volvo to build charging network?**

Rowan was asked whether Volvo Cars would invest directly in its own charging network, as well as broader vertical integration. He said it depends.

“We make a lot of decisions on what do we build versus what do we buy – and that’s different in different parts of the world,” per Rowan.

“In Brazil, for example, we do invest in charging infrastructure directly. In places like North America, we’ve just signed an agreement with Tesla which allows all of our customers to use that fast charge infrastructure already built out by Tesla – which is an immediate benefit to our customers,” he added.

“In Europe we use companies like DCS and Plugsurfing which allows us to use that aggregated charging infrastructure and gives access to our customers,” said Rowan.

**What to buy, what to build**

The same mixed approach – owning or partnering – applies throughout the business.

“When you look at where else do we want to integrate, we have decided that silicon is something that we can partner on. Partners like Nvidia and Qualcomm give us access to high computational silicon without the need to have to make that deep investment in semiconductors,” said Rowan.

On batteries, Volvo Cars’ plan is to both build in-house and source from external providers.

“That will be a mixed model. We want to really understand batteries and battery chemistry,” said Rowan, with the company’s joint venture with Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt set to be “up and running in 2026”.

Meanwhile, the decision to take electric motors in-house is already paying dividends, said Rowan: “That’s one of the reasons we are able to offer extended range in the new XC40 and C40 – because of the efficiency we have been able to drive out of that new e-motor design.”

He said future investment decisions will continue in the same vein.

“We look at this pretty forensically in terms of what do we build, what do we buy,” said Rowan. The decision comes down to, “Where is our money best spent … and how do we gather the most benefit for our customers and the highest potential growth with the best margin structure?”

The earnings call also covers pricing; why the EX90 is delayed until next year; and how selling cars directly to consumers requires four key parties to come together. Watch it here.