BP scales back ambitions for BP Pulse

The mineral oil company BP has cut back its global growth plans for its fast-charging infrastructure called BP Pulse. Instead of focusing on twelve countries, BP Pulse will focus only on four.

According to Reuters, BP Pulse intends to concentrate on markets where it expects the fastest growth, namely the US, the UK, China, and Germany. The company also identified three other countries as “growth markets” (not to be confused with “focus markets”): Australia, New Zealand and France.

As part of the cutbacks, the BP Pulse division cut more than ten per cent of its global workforce of 900 employees, or more than 100 jobs, in recent months. However, according to Reuters, many employees have been transferred to other divisions, and only a handful have left the company.

However, EV charging infrastructure remains one of BP’s five key growth areas. Moreover, the company wants to live up to its claim of promoting alternative drive systems beyond mineral oil. On the other hand, BP hopes customers will stay longer at its petrol stations and buy something at the petrol station shop.

At the end of 2023, BP had 29,000 charging points in its network worldwide, aiming for 100,000 worldwide by 2030. “Our EV ambitions have not changed,” BP told Reuters. The changes at BP Pulse are “a step towards ensuring that we can execute our goals with even greater precision and effectiveness.”

In Germany, BP Pulse operates under the name Aral Pulse and wants to set up a network of 20,000 ultra-fast charging points by 2030. As BP Pulse categorises Germany as a focus market, there is a chance that the plan still stands. In the UK, BP Pulse signed a deal with the Henderson Group in Northern Ireland at the end of last year. The goal is to set up 200 charging stations at the latter’s retail sites.

reuters.com