BP’s electrifying deal for EVs in China

How does an energy supermajor help to supercharge global growth in electric vehicles? First you take BP’s world-leading global fuels retailing and convenience expertise. And you combine it with DiDi’s unrivalled platform for ride-hailing, car sharing and other services, connecting more than half-a-billion users. Then together you create a brand-new charging network in the country that is home to more than half of the world’s EVs. 

BP opened a pilot site in May 2019 in collaboration with DiDi. It’s already powering motorists on their way in Guangzhou, in the south of China. The JV plans rapid expansion of the network across China.

Tufan Erginbilgic, BP’s Downstream chief executive said, “As the world’s largest EV market, China offers extraordinary opportunities to develop innovative new businesses at scale and we see this as the perfect partnership for such a fast-evolving environment. The lessons we learn here will help us further expand BP’s advanced mobility business worldwide, helping drive the energy transition and develop solutions for a low carbon world.”

Cheng Wei, DiDi’s chairman and chief executive, said, “We look forward to combining our strengths to create a robust EV charging network for China, promote the growth of the new energy automotive industry, and provide better experience for car owners across the country.”

Energizing China

The ambition is to become China’s leading EV charging provider, and this latest move by BP follows a series of investments with Chinese partners in hardware, software and infrastructure to support the development of the country’s electric vehicle ecosystem.

Xiaoping Yang, BP China chairman and president said, “China offers tremendous growth opportunities for BP. Partnering with DiDi enables BP to actively contribute to China’s fast-growing EV charging market and also to further expand our business footprint in the country.”