How can selling EV Charging Stations support an automaker with increasing adoption of its electric vehicles in Europe?

The goal of this Master Thesis in Engineering & Management is to develop a methodology aimed at understanding the role played by EV home charging stations in the automotive market across Europe. Specifically, the objective is to determine the presence of a correlation between a car manufacturer selling home chargers and adoption of its EVs. The Thesis proposes different hypotheses to be tested, such as correlation between a country’s diffusion, adoption, and range anxiety, and how range anxiety is impacted by home charging stations. It also delves into the effect perceived by consumers when reacting to a carmaker offering the home charger in a bundle or unbundled offer with the EV. A survey is used to gather data from consumers, the sample being largely Italian in this Thesis with the purpose of showing the methodology. A larger sample representative of different European countries would be required for a full scale, geographically unbiased analysis. The research method also includes an interview with different Managers in Toyota Motor Europe involved with EV charging stations to understand the strategy behind OEMs offering these new products in their line-up. The answers from Toyota management and consumers are compared to find correlations, with the impact of home chargers on range anxiety being largely positive. From a first investigation it emerges that the correlation between selling home chargers and EV adoption is weak, and OEM’s strategy is rather focused on reacting to the threat posed by energy and mobility companies, which with the rise of EVs will tend to monetize most of the automotive value chain all the way from energy generation to leasing of the car. The Thesis ends with several recommendations on how to follow and improve the proposed methodology, such as taking into consideration government incentives, income inequality among European nations and avoiding geographical biases.