If you’ve spent any time in the electric vehicle (EV) charger supply space over the past five years, you’ve probably heard two dominant narratives: autonomous vehicles (AVs) are the future of transportation, and EVs are the fastest growing segment of the automotive industry—one that’s already reshaping how we think about fuel and infrastructure. For a charger supplier like myself, the biggest question I’ve had to grapple with isn’t whether AVs and EVs will coexist, but how their intersection will actually change the demand for the hardware we make. EV Charger
Most of the early conversation around AVs and chargers centered on a false binary: would fully driverless vehicles eliminate the need for human-controlled charging, or would they make it more complex? As someone who’s spent 12 years designing, manufacturing, and installing Level 2 and DC fast chargers across North America, I can tell you that the reality is far more nuanced. It’s not a case of “more” or “less”—it’s a case of “different.” And that difference is already starting to reshape our production lines, our client relationships, and how we think about the future of mobility.
Let’s start with the obvious: autonomous vehicles are, for the most part, still electric. There’s no practical near-term scenario where a fully driverless passenger vehicle, delivery van, or semi-truck runs on gasoline or diesel. The computing power, sensor suites, and redundant systems required for Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy add significant weight and energy demands—making battery electric propulsion far more efficient than internal combustion. A 2023 study from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found that autonomous EVs consume approximately 10-15% more energy than human-driven EVs, a gap that only widens for commercial AVs like delivery fleets, which operate on tight schedules and long duty cycles. That means every autonomous vehicle on the road is not just an EV, but an EV with a more frequent need for charging.
But here’s where the demand shift gets interesting: it’s not just about how many chargers we need, but where and how they’re used. For the first decade of EV adoption, most chargers were installed at private residences or retail locations, serving individual drivers who planned their own trips and charging stops. Autonomous vehicles, particularly commercial fleets, operate on a centralized model. A fleet of 500 self-driving delivery vans won’t be charging up at random coffee shop chargers during work hours—they’ll have dedicated depots, hub-and-spoke charging stations along delivery routes, and maybe even curbside charging zones in urban areas where they pick up and drop off packages.
This is a game-changer for a charger supplier. Early on, our biggest clients were individual homeowners, small business owners installing one or two chargers in their parking lots, and city governments looking to add Level 2 chargers along highways. Today, 60% of our new business comes from large fleet operators, autonomous vehicle developers, and logistics companies that need hundreds of chargers deployed at once. Last year, we secured a contract to install 1,200 DC fast chargers at 12 regional depots for a self-driving delivery startup—something we wouldn’t have even considered possible eight years ago, when AVs were still mostly test vehicles on closed tracks.
That shift in client needs has forced us to adapt our product line, too. We used to focus heavily on compact, easy-to-install Level 2 chargers for residential use. Now, we’re investing in higher-powered, durable chargers that can handle 10+ charging sessions a day, 24/7. We’re also adding smart charging management software that integrates directly with AV fleet operating systems—software that can prioritize charging during off-peak hours, adjust charging rates based on grid demand, and even schedule maintenance for chargers that show signs of wear. A human driver might plug in a charger and walk away, but an autonomous fleet needs chargers that are reliable, connected, and easy to manage at scale.
Critically, the rise of AVs isn’t just increasing demand for chargers—it’s changing the types of charging infrastructure that will be most valuable. For example, hub-and-spoke charging stations along major highways will need higher-capacity DC fast chargers that can top up 10+ AVs at once, since delivery routes and long-haul trucking are core use cases for autonomous technology. Urban areas will need curbside chargers that can serve multiple robo-taxis, which might circle a city all day picking up passengers and stop for quick charges every few hours. Even private depots for autonomous passenger vehicle fleets will need a mix of Level 2 chargers for overnight charging and high-power DC fast chargers for quick top-ups between shifts.
There’s also the unspoken factor of vehicle utilization. Human-driven cars are typically parked 95% of the time, according to data from the US Department of Transportation. Autonomous vehicles, especially commercial ones, will be utilized 18-20 hours a day, every day. That means they’ll need to charge more frequently, and in many cases, will need faster charging speeds to minimize downtime. A robo-taxi that can’t charge in 20 minutes loses revenue; a delivery van that takes an hour to charge misses its delivery window. This means the demand for DC fast chargers—our higher-margin, higher-volume product line—will grow far faster than Level 2 chargers over the next decade.
Of course, it’s not all growth and opportunity. There are real challenges that come with this shift. One of the biggest is the grid. A fleet of 1,000 autonomous delivery vans, each with a 150 kWh battery, will draw up to 15 MW of power during peak charging times—enough to power a small neighborhood. That means charger suppliers like us can’t just sell hardware; we have to partner with utilities and fleet operators to design charging infrastructure that works with the local grid, rather than against it. We’ve had to build a team of grid engineers in the last two years, a role that didn’t exist at our company 10 years ago, to help clients navigate grid interconnection studies and design charging stations that can handle high, sustained power loads.
Another challenge is standardization. Today, there are several competing connector types for EVs, and as AVs proliferate, the need for a unified, universal charging standard will only grow. AVs can’t stop to figure out which charger works with their port, or wait for a driver to swap a connector if one is faulty. That means charger suppliers have to invest in products that support multiple, widely used connector types, and advocate for standardized, future-proof infrastructure that can adapt to new AV models without requiring a full charger replacement.
I’ve also seen concerns from some in the industry that autonomous vehicles might reduce the need for public chargers, since most AV charging will happen at private depots. But the data doesn’t back that up. A 2024 report from the EV Charging Infrastructure Alliance found that public charger demand will grow at a CAGR of 22% through 2035, with AVs accounting for 35% of that growth. Why? Because long-haul autonomous trucks will need charging at rest stops to cover cross-country routes, robo-taxis will need quick top-ups in dense urban areas, and even passenger AVs will need public chargers for road trips, just like human drivers do. The difference is that public chargers will be used more frequently and by larger numbers of vehicles, so they need to be built to higher standards of reliability and speed.
For our team, this shift has been both challenging and exciting. We started as a small manufacturer of residential chargers, mostly serving local homeowners in the Pacific Northwest. Today, we have 150 employees, three manufacturing facilities, and clients across North America and Europe. The AV revolution didn’t just add more work—it changed what work we do. We now work with software engineers to integrate charging management tools, with urban planners to design curbside charging zones, and with logistics companies to build depots that can support thousands of vehicles.
Looking ahead, I expect the demand for chargers to be driven as much by AVs as it is by new passenger EV adoption. By 2030, the International Energy Agency projects that there will be 14 million autonomous EVs on the road, up from less than 100,000 today. Each of those vehicles will need charging infrastructure, and most of that infrastructure will need to be built from scratch in the next decade. For a charger supplier, that’s not just an opportunity—it’s a responsibility. We’re not just selling cables and power units; we’re building the backbone of a new transportation system that’s cleaner, more efficient, and more accessible than what came before.
If you’re a fleet operator, AV developer, logistics company, or municipality planning for the future of mobility, we can help you design and deploy charging infrastructure that meets the unique needs of autonomous vehicles. Whether you need a small depot for 50 robo-taxis or a network of 10,000 chargers along cross-country delivery routes, our team has the experience, engineering expertise, and product line to get the job done right. We’re constantly innovating to keep up with the pace of AV and EV growth, and we’re ready to partner with you to build the charging network of tomorrow. For inquiries about product offerings, bulk orders, or custom charging solutions, get in touch with our sales team today to start a discussion tailored to your needs.
Power Lithium Battery References
- International Council on Clean Transportation. (2023). Energy Consumption of Autonomous Electric Vehicles: Implications for Infrastructure Planning.
- US Department of Transportation. (2022). Vehicle Utilization Rates and Parking Trends in the United States.
- EV Charging Infrastructure Alliance. (2024). Global Public Charger Demand Forecast: 2024–2035.
- International Energy Agency. (2024). Global EV Outlook: Autonomous Electric Vehicle Deployment Scenarios.
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