How entrepreneur Pete Bevils is making millions after spotting a gap in the electric vehicle market

The serial entrepreneur admits he misses the throaty sound of the v8 engine but says he is ‘kind of addicted’ to the whirring of his accelerating Audi e-tron.

With fuel prices hitting a new record high and the positive environmental impact of moving to greener technology, it appears that more of us are looking to make the move.

A recent YouGov survey, commissioned by Bridgestone, found that more than two thirds of UK drivers are looking to ditch their petrol and diesel vehicles for good, investing instead in an electric vehicle.

However, infrastructure is still an issue. According to the SMMT, electric vehicle numbers rose fourfold to almost 400,000 between 2019 and 2021 but the number of public charge points increased by just 70 per cent in the same period.

Bevils, founder of electric vehicle (EV) charger installer EV3 POWER, is keen to improve the situation.

“Over the last 12 months, orders for electric cars have gone through the roof and now we’re trying to catch up again,” says Bevils. “We do need to install a lot more charging points.”

The fast-growing Wakefield-based firm, which was established in 2019 and is on track to achieve a £6m turnover this year, started by supplying and installing EV chargers into the commercial sector.

EV chargers still make up 95 per cent of EV3’s workload but it has broadened its services to include the supply and installation of solar panels, air source heat pumps and, lucratively, battery energy storage systems.

Its biggest client is Connected Kerb, which intends to install 190,000 EV units by 2030 by targeting the residential charging point market.

“Everybody needs our services at the moment so we’re in a very good space and our growth is rapid. We were making a profit within the first two years of the business” Bevils says.

He forecasts that the firm, which has 39 staff and is recruiting 60-90 more people over the next 12 months, will reach £100m turnover by 2026.

He recently found an investment partner, a ‘global fuel business’, as EV3 prepares to install more than 10,000 EV chargers in the UK in 2022.

“We’ve had several approaches from different types of organisations wanting to invest in the business, including private equity houses,” he says. “But the one we’re concluding with at the moment is more of an active partner.

“They have 90,000 customers in the UK who require our services and it gives us access to five continents, so that’s another reason why we need to staff up very quickly.”

Hydrogen fuel cells are the latest technology EV3 is set to provide following a conversation between Bevils and a large logistics company last year.

“We have up to 2.2 megawatt charging solutions, which means we could charge 16 electric buses or HGVs simultaneously,” he says.

The range of green technology EV3 is able to provide means it is close to being able to move businesses completely off grid.

“Its a great thing to be able to do given the increasing energy prices and it would also take the strain away from the National Grid,” he says. “That’s our ambition and we’re pretty close to fulfilling it now.”

Bevils describes EV3 as ‘agnostic’ when it comes to manufacturers. “We will use our market knowledge and experience to recommend what we feel is right for the customer,” he says. “It’s important for future proofing because we uninstall quite a number of unsuitable units that have been sold to customers by other firms.”

He adds: “We’re able to monitor the usage of the equipment on a live basis, which enables us to monitor the performance of the units.

“We’re able to solve 60 per cent of issues within three minutes remotely, which is good for organisations where charging points are going to be critical infrastructure.”

According to Bevils, resource is the main challenge for the business.

EV3 is expanding so rapidly that nine months ago it had to stop actively looking for new business. “We couldn’t cope with the amount of enquiries we were getting with such a small team,” he says.

“We don’t go out and look for new business, it just comes to us but as part of the new investment we want to turn the taps back on.

“We need to make sure that our systems and procedures are seamless. We are recruiting on a daily basis at the moment.”

Bevils’ goal is to become the UK’s largest sustainability installation company, which he expects to achieve in a year’s time.

“Customers know they have to do something about this thing called sustainability but where do they start?” he says. “It’s not their day job so they need partners who can help them along that journey. We don’t do sales, we’re partners for our customers.”

Although Bevils has managed most of the growth by himself so far, he is now beefing up the management team, including the appointment of former Google and Bolt executive Rich Pleeth as chief of staff.

EV3 is the fourth start-up business Bevils has founded in the last 20 years, building them up before selling them on but it’s the first time he has moved away from the construction sector.

“I’m a car fanatic and when I was looking at electric cars a few years ago I could see the market was going to go crazy and I wanted to be involved,” he says. This is the most enthusiastic I have been about any business I’ve ever had and by driving an electric car I feel like I’m doing my bit for the planet.”

He adds: “Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to do a Ferrari track day now and again, just for the thrills, but there’s no way I’d go back to petrol or diesel.”