BMW reportedly is to buy a stake in British company Chargemaster which produces and installs half of the UK’s charging points for electric cars.
Sky News said the deal, which is expected to be announced on Thursday, will underline the potential importance of electric cars to the future of BMW, which plans to launch its first model – the i3 – next week.
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BMW’s purchase of the shares comes as Chargemaster pursues a flotation on London’s junior AIM stock market in an attempt to raise funds for expansion, Sky said.
The German carmaker is likely to invest roughly GBP500,000 in Chargemaster stock, giving it a stake of about 2%, people familiar with the deal told the broadcaster.
Chargemaster, which is based near Luton, is a beneficiary of government plans to encourage motorists to switch to electric vehicles with the European Commission demanding that 795,000 charging points are installed across the continent by 2020.
The UK government is subsidising up to 75% of the cost of domestic charging points, according to the Chargemaster’s flotation documents. Annual European demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure is expected to reach US$1bn (GBP650m) by 2021.
It makes money by supplying home charging units to automakers like Nissan, Renault and Toyota, and produces ranges for workplace and public use.
Sky News said the BMW shareholding is expected to be trumpeted by Chargemaster as a blue-chip endorsement of its business. The two companies already have a strategic partnership under which the British firm is installing electric charging infrastructure on BMW premises.
Chargemaster was set up by David Martell, the entrepreneur who made his first fortune from the creation of the Trafficmaster satellite navigation system.
Martell owns 50% of the company, with the flotation of Chargemaster crystallising a paper fortune worth more than GBP10m. Other investors are understood to include Lord Beaverbrook, the former Conservative treasurer and newspaper baron.
Norbert Reithofer, BMW’s chief executive, said in relation to the company’s electric car development earlier this year that “being the spearhead of change means taking a calculated risk”, Sky noted.
A BMW spokeswoman confirmed an announcement was planned while Chargemaster declined to comment.
Last year, Chargemaster made a gross profit of GBP1.24m on sales of GBP3.6m, Sky News said.
