E-mobility in the fast lane: DKV Mobility achieves one million charging points

Christopher Schäckermann

What was considered a vision just a few years ago is now a reality on our roads: Electromobility has developed from a niche topic into a central component of the energy transition. Rising registration figures for electric vehicles, ambitious climate targets and a growing awareness of sustainable mobility have sparked a dynamic that can no longer be stopped.

But the road has not always been easy: the infrastructure often lagged behind demand, standards were lacking and the charging experience was anything but convenient.

If you want to shape the mobility of the future, you have to think big - and act consistently: DKV Mobility set out on this path early on - and is now celebrating a significant milestone with over 1 million charging points in the acceptance network. We spoke to Christopher Schäckermann, Vice President e-Mobility Roaming at DKV Mobility, about the beginnings, challenges and the next goals.

Newsroom: Christopher, today DKV Mobility offers its customers access to over one million charging points - a major milestone. What was the beginning of this journey like?

Christopher: Our vision was clear from the start: we wanted to make electromobility just as easy as conventional refueling. When DKV Mobility launched its first e-mobility solution, the +Charge card, in 2015, there were only around 7,000 charging points in the network. I myself joined in 2017 - at that time, the e-mobility team consisted of just two people.

An incredible amount has happened since then: Today, we not only have over one million charging points in our acceptance network, but also our own app, a highly scalable platform and are one of the largest providers in Europe.

Newsroom: How did you experience this transformation process within the company and with your customers?

Christopher: It was indeed a real transformation process. DKV Mobility originally came from the traditional fuel card business. By setting up our e-mobility division, we have entered completely new territory.

E-mobility doesn't just mean an “alternative form of energy”, it changes the entire mobility logic. We had to learn how many different components are interlinked - from hardware solutions such as wallboxes to digital interfaces and user-friendly apps. This required a lot of persuasion - both internally in sales and externally with customers, some of whom still had to find their own way around.

Newsroom: The team has grown considerably in the meantime - and you have brought strong partners on board with GreenFlux and SMART/LAB. What role do these partnerships play?

Christopher: That's right, the development has been rapid - the movie title Fast & Furious actually sums it up quite well. It was fast, sometimes turbulent, but we always stepped on the gas - and never lost sight of the goal. Today, our e-mobility team has grown to around 300 colleagues.

However, in order to keep up in this market, we also had to strengthen ourselves strategically. One key step was the acquisition of GreenFlux: the team now provides the technological backbone for our entire charging network. Our colleagues ensure that the platform works, that everything scales and that roaming runs reliably. And at the beginning of this year, SMART/LAB came on board. We are thus bringing together strong expertise in the municipal and public sectors - and strategically expanding our roaming network.

Newsroom: A big step has been taken with the million - what does the next stage look like?

Christopher: The electromobility revolution shows that great things can come from small beginnings - and one million charging points is the starting signal for the next stage.

Now it's all about making charging processes even more convenient, transparent and efficient. Our customers increasingly expect transparent prices, fast charging times and a reliable app. And we want to offer solutions that are simple, efficient and intelligent.

Newsroom: That sounds like a clear mission - thank you for talking to us and good luck for the next steps!