Shell Acquisitions Begin First Joint Offering but Still Have a Long Way to Go

European oil companies have been active in the power sector over the last few years. They have put together the building blocks to launch their own services by integrating the acquired company’s offerings. 

Shell is one of those oil companies. It acquired NewMotion—an EV charging company, in October 2017. In December 2017, it announced its acquisition of First Utility—a UK energy supplier that was later renamed Shell Energy.

These acquisitions have borne their first joint offering. On February 24, Shell Energy UK announced a new electricity tariff for EV owners. The offer includes a dedicated EV tariff allowing 2,000 miles worth of free charging per year. This number is based on the average cost of 4p (5.2 cents) per mile and is equivalent to £80 ($104) annual credit.

The offer includes a discounted home smart charger installed for £299 ($388), a savings of 14% compared to the retail price of £349 ($454). Provided by NewMotion, the charger delivers 7 kW of power, charging a typical EV in 5 hours. The charger is powered by 100% renewable energy. 

Shell’s energy offering is not the first attempt at luring EV drivers. There is a diverse range of EV-related tariffs, ranging from time-of-use tariffs (usually lowering prices at night) to EV car leases bundled with chargers and electricity, but Shell’s idea of including free miles is new. This idea is simple and something drivers can relate to.

More Work Needed

This offer also shows a need for more integration work. For example, the fixed bill rebate shows that the rate does not take advantage of the demand response capabilities Shell got when they acquired Limejump to create a more ambitious tariff structure. 

Tesla has proven the value of such an offering by selling Supercharger access as part of the Tesla experience. Shell could do something similar and revise its offering to include other assets like its charging stations. Instead of including miles from charging stations, Shell offers a 3% discount off the cost of Shell fuel and liquid petroleum gas, an offer the company provides to all electricity customers (not useful for EV drivers).