The Russian market for electric vehicle charging stations (EV charging stations) has begun to consolidate. PUNKT E, a charging station network operator, has acquired the international operator business Sitronics Electro, part of the technology company Sitronics Group. Following the merger, the combined network will exceed 1,600 charging stations across more than 60 regions of Russia and two CIS countries. (The total number of EV charging stations in Russia is approximately 10,000.) This was announced in a press release by Advance Capital, the investment bank that served as financial advisor to the buyer.
The market is now entering a stage where the advantage is no longer held by individual local networks, but rather by large operators with broad geographic reach, their own digital platforms, and the ability to invest in infrastructure development.
The deal included not only the charging stations themselves, but also a mobile app, EV monitoring and dispatching systems, and a business focused on designing and building charging hubs for public and commercial vehicles.
“We expect M&A activity in this segment to increase in the coming years, and the market to coalesce around a few key players,” noted Maxim Uryash, a partner at the investment bank Advance Capital.