ChargePoint is increasingly shifting its attention towards Europe as the charging provider seeks growth opportunities outside its home market in the US. CEO Rick Wilmer says the company expects Europe to account for half of its revenue in the long term, supported by new charging products and continued government backing for electrification.Image: ChargePointThere have been few positive headlines for EV drivers in the US in recent months. For example, since Donald Trump took office in 2025, the EV tax credit has been scrapped, and the administration has made it more difficult to get NEVI funding (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure), by increasing the proportion of American components in publicly funded charging stations. Nevertheless, ChargePoint CEO Rick Wilmer is confident that his company will continue to grow in North America.“I think the tailwinds are getting stronger,” the manager said confidently. Especially considering the petrol prices, more consumers are willing to switch to an EV. At the same time, electric cars are becoming more affortable.“First, there are a lot of leased vehicles that are coming off lease and going into the market as used vehicles. And because EVs have depreciated pretty heavily, they’re at price parity with a used gas car of an equivalent type,” says Wilmers. Meanwhile, there are a lot of new EV models ready to hit the road in the US, many of them below $35,000 or $40,000.“What really drives our business is the number of EVs on the road, not the number of new EVs sold every month,” he said. According to Wilmer, EV retention rates are currently between 90 and 95 per cent, meaning most EV drivers do not return to combustion vehicles.Nevertheless, Europe is becoming more important for ChargePoint’s business. According to Wilmer, Europe accounted for around a quarter of the company’s revenue in the fourth quarter – a record share for the region. The company now wants to expand further with new DC charging products designed specifically for both Europe and North America.“We expect that trend to continue,” Wilmer said. “Unlike the US, we’ve got government support in Europe for electrification. So that’s helping.”The company’s ambitions come as Europe already has a competitive charging market with established players such as ABB, Siemens and Alpitronic. Nevertheless, ChargePoint sees room for another major supplier.Europe gains strategic importance“We want to be as big or bigger in Europe as we are in the US,” he said. “From 23 per cent of revenue from Europe to 50 per cent or more.”ChargePoint plans to support that expansion with new charging hardware, including its recently unveiled Express Solo DC charger. The system was developed for both Europe and North America from the outset. “We’ve got a whole slew of new products coming into the market that were intentionally designed to serve both Europe and North America,” Wilmer said.The company sees opportunities particularly in the fleet and charge point operator segments. According to Wilmer, the new platform focuses on reducing installation complexity, operating costs and space requirements.“We’ve got a 600-kilowatt product and a footprint that’s smaller than products that are currently at 400 kilowatts,” he said.The Express Solo platform is based on an air-cooled system rather than liquid cooling. Wilmer argued this reduces complexity, lowers costs and improves reliability. He also highlighted the system’s modular architecture, which allows several units to be combined into megawatt-scale charging installations.“This is unique in the industry,” he said.Full-stack strategy and energy integrationChargePoint continues to position itself as a provider of both hardware and software rather than focusing on one area alone. Around 40 per cent of the company’s revenue currently comes from recurring software and service business, with the remainder generated by hardware sales.“We’re a full-stack provider with both hardware and software,” Wilmer said. “We are absolutely convinced, in fact more convinced than ever, that that is the right solution for the market.”The company is also expanding further into energy management and grid integration. In the US, ChargePoint recently introduced the ExpressGrid concept together with Eaton. The system combines charging infrastructure with DC grids, battery storage and renewable energy integration. Wilmer believes this could become increasingly relevant as electricity demand rises due to electrification and AI-driven data centre growth.“You now effectively have a reservoir of energy on wheels that can move from one place to another,” he said, referring to vehicle-to-grid applications.It is clear that in Europe, ChargePoint is entering a market that is already significantly more mature, where ecosystem thinking is no longer a unique selling point. However, established fast-charging providers – including ABB, Siemens and Alpitronic – are also having to work hard to consolidate their positions. All are under pressure to improve utilisation rates and reduce installation and operating costs.This is precisely where ChargePoint sees its opportunities. The company plans to coordinate its intensified European focus from the Netherlands. Whether and how quickly Europe will gain greater importance in the American company’s balance sheets will become clear in the coming financial reports. Rick Wilmer himself has only set a target of 50 per cent, without specifying a timeframe.