At this week’s 50. Electrive Online Conference, the tone felt noticeably different. The industry still speaks in forecasts and rollout plans, about gigawatts of capacity, utilisation plateaus and investment cycles, but beneath the numbers, something more fundamental is changing as we hear. The rapid climb of the last years is slowing into something more mature. Mature, as it is far more dependent on the quality of the products that we – as the eMobility family – place into the world.
Europe’s charging landscape has reached a level of readiness few would have predicted even three years ago. And we can be proud of it: More than a million public charging points! White spots are disappearing. Even heavy-duty infrastructure, once thought to lag a decade behind, is accelerating. The hardware is no longer the bottleneck in most applications.
The customers, however, are changing faster than the infrastructure around them. Early adopters were patient, curious and forgiving. They tolerated inconsistent experiences, studied charging maps and compared apps. But the next wave, the mainstream, will not. They want charging to be invisible, let’s say boring. One speaker at 50th Electrive LIVE mentioned a relative who recently switched to an EV just because the lease was attractive. There was no research or no emotional investment. This is where the market is heading: towards drivers who expect certainty.
The gap between what companies build and what customers need is widening quietly. CPOs feel utilisation pressure. Hardware manufacturers hustle through shrinking margins. Software providers struggle to differentiate in an ocean of similar features. And all of this is happening while demand for clarity grows every day. According to LCP Delta, Europe’s public charging installations are expected to dip slightly in 2025 and 2026. A sign that the era of building for its own sake has ended. McKinsey estimates that €240 billion in charging investment will still be needed by 2030, but that money will flow toward solutions that prove their relevance via a real business value.
This is the turning point: 2026 will not be shaped by infrastructure expansion (alone), but by the strength of the products built around it. The industry is moving from “Can it charge?” to “Why this product?” From rollout speed to customer feedback. From engineering ambition to commercial impact.
with a focus on efficiency and improved productivity, making it an excellent choice for fleets. The van is designed not only to meet the demands of long days on the road, but it also takes the environment into consideration.
We created the Amplify Product Success Guide (LINK). After fifteen years in this industry, we’ve seen what makes products win. The winners are not necessarily the most technically advanced, but the ones that understand their purpose, articulate their value and earn their place in the market.
The next chapter of eMobility will be defined by those who deliver that sense of inevitability.
Because in the end, people don’t just adopt technology, they adopt the feeling that the future is already here, and that choosing it is the obvious thing to do.
