Electra CEO outlines strategy: Czechia entry, spring opening, investment in Germany — others on hold

Five years ago, Aurelien de Meaux set out to turn his interest in mobility into reality.

After around 20 interviews, he identified a major hurdle in electromobility: many people were ready to switch to a zero-emission car, but hesitated because of charging — its duration, availability and cost.

Along the way, he met Julien Belliato, and together they founded Electra to solve these pain points.

Today, the company operates in ten European countries: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and the Czech Republic, its most recent market.

To delve deeper into the strategy, Mobility Portal speaks with de Meaux.

They recently launched operations in the Czech Republic. What factors influenced the decision to establish a presence there?

From a management perspective, we assessed where we could grow organically based on two conditions: a significant uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and an infrastructure that was still underdeveloped.

We saw that BEVs sales in the Czech Republic were beginning to grow and, moreover, Škoda has around 60% market share, which gives us confidence.

Was the expansion process straightforward?

No. Although it is one of the most developed countries in Central and Eastern Europe, we had to justify the decision internally and to our investors.

It is a major investment if we aim for 80 stations: we are talking about 40 to 60 million euros.

Before choosing the Czech Republic, which other countries did you consider?

We assessed Portugal, but we found a great deal of competition and the Mobi.E system is very specific and complex (although it is now changing).

We also looked at Poland, but as it is a very large country, the investment would be very high, and its energy mix is highly carbon-intensive (around 800 g of CO₂ per kWh). It will improve, but it will take 15 or 20 years to reach the levels of the rest of Europe. That also played a role.

Latin America still has few BEVs, but adoption is growing and there is room to deploy charging infrastructure. Could you expand there?

In Brazil, BEV adoption is quite strong, and we have discussed it. However, we first need to demonstrate a solid position and a profitable, stable business.

For countries such as Brazil, Argentina or even the United States, a great deal of capital is required due to the distances involved — hundreds of millions and, most likely, a local fund.

For now, it is not on our agenda, although we might reconsider it in a year or two.

Do you have plans to enter new European countries in the short term?

We will not be opening more countries for now. We want to gain market share in each country where we already operate.

I would rather Electra be strong in ten countries than be present in 25 with only a few stations in each.

The key is the network effect: people need to trust Electra and find plenty of stations in their own country.

That’s why you are making a big push in Germany…

We started operations in September 2023 and have just completed our first acquisition: a site in Wertheim, near Frankfurt, one of the largest in the country. It has 16 ultra-fast charging points, soon scaling up to 32.

The market will continue to consolidate, so we are looking to integrate other networks.

In Germany, we will grow both organically and through acquisitions.

Additionally, we plan a massive rollout: next year we will probably build 80 or 90 stations.

User experience is at the centre of the debate. What makes a driver return to an Electra station?

First, reliability: the station must always work. Second, price; and third, ease of use.

The network effect also matters: good coverage and convenience, which we reinforce with the Electra Plus subscription and the autocharge feature.

What other aspects make Electra stand out from the competition?

From the outset, we decided to focus solely on public, ultra-fast charging, the most convenient option for users. We aim for people to charge in five to ten minutes, just like with a combustion engine car.

We saw that fast charging was very common on motorways, but not so much in urban areas.

When we started in Paris in 2020, there were barely three or four fast-charging hubs; most major cities mainly had slow charging. Today, Electra has 90 hubs, and overall there are around 130.

You are used to operating in urban areas…

Yes, and it is very different from operating on motorways: space is more limited, and sometimes we need underground stations.

The second differentiator is that we develop all our technology. It is crucial to master both hardware and software: if you want a flawless experience, you need to control both.

In addition to technology and urban presence, you also stand out for your financing…

We have raised over one billion euros, which probably makes us one of the best-funded charge point operators (CPOs) in Europe.

What will be the next trend in charging infrastructure?

More powerful stations, because cars can handle higher power.

Last week I was in Denmark, which has 90% BEV adoption, and the main issue is congestion at stations. This is already starting to happen on our own network as well.

The solution is to build more infrastructure and charge faster.

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