ChargePoint to grow global EV charging network to 2.5 mln

    FRANKFURT, Sept 14 (Reuters) - ChargePoint, operator of one
of the world's largest charging station networks for electric
vehicles (EV), is targeting a near fifty-fold increase in its
global network of loading spots by the middle of next decade, it
said on Friday.
    The group, in which German companies BMW          , Daimler
           and Siemens            hold stakes, aims to operate
2.5 million charging points by 2025, up from a network of around
53,000 currently, it said in a statement.
    The Silicon Valley-based group supplies charging hardware
and software. It owns no re-charging stations of its own but
works like an Airbnb or Uber           to create a network of
locations and schedule bookings at available charge points.
    "Our commitment to deploy 2.5 million charging spots by 2025
comes as the company embarks on the most significant period of
growth in our history and in the midst of a revolution in
transportation," ChargePoint chief executive Pasquale Romano
said.
    Romano told Reuters that the commitment was linked to the
assumption that there will be about 20 million electric vehicles
in the markets that the company caters to, which include the
United States and Europe.
    The group has raised $125 million to expand in Europe and
told Reuters last year that it might go public by 2022, in a
sign of growing demand for equipment catering to the electric
vehicle industry.
    Electric and hybrid vehicles are expected to account for
nearly a third of the global auto market by 2030, according to
metals consultants CRU, up from 4 percent of the 86 million
vehicles sold last year.
    Among players vying to take control of the market for EV
infrastructure are French utility Engie           , Germany's
Innogy         , and E.ON           , as well as Nordic power
firms Fortum             and Vattenfall          .             

 (Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Jan Harvey)