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| Date / Milestone | Capital / Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1991. EVBox founded | Pre-ENGIE | Founded in the Netherlands as a charger-hardware startup; bootstraps to multi-product portfolio (AC home + commercial + DC fast) |
| 2017-04. ENGIE acquires EVBox | ~$156M acquisition | ENGIE acquires EVBox Group for ~$156M; positions as utility-into-EV-charging strategic vertical integration; intends to leverage utility + EV-mobility customer relationships across France + EU |
| 2017-2019. Integration + product expansion | EVBox within ENGIE | EVBox operates as ENGIE subsidiary; product expansion includes Iqon DC fast charger family; geographic expansion to North America via EVBox North America office |
| 2020-Dec. TPG Pace SPAC merger announced | ~$1.4B equity valuation | EVBox + TPG Pace Beneficial Finance announce business combination targeting NYSE listing at ~$1.4B equity value; reflects 2020 charging-pure-play valuation peak (ChargePoint + EVgo + Blink all SPAC'd) |
| 2021-04. SPAC merger collapses | Spin-off paused | EVBox + TPG Pace mutually terminate merger amid SPAC market collapse + EVBox-specific working-capital issues; EVBox remains an ENGIE subsidiary |
| 2022. First round of layoffs | ~10% workforce reduction | EVBox announces restructuring + first major layoff round; cites SPAC failure + slower-than-expected European charging-hardware demand |
| 2023. Second restructuring + sale exploration | Further ~15% workforce reduction | ENGIE explores sale of EVBox to private equity + strategic buyers; no buyer materializes at acceptable valuation; EVBox continues another restructuring round |
| 2024-Jun. ENGIE announces EVBox wind-down | Solvent liquidation | ENGIE decides to wind down (solvent liquidation of) the EVBox group after failing to find a buyer; operations are virtually shut down by October 2024 |
| 2024-2025. Liquidation + Bordeaux carve-out | Group liquidated; one factory sold | The Bordeaux fast-charger factory was carved out and sold to Financiere de Pessac; the rest of the EVBox group was wound down. EVBox is no longer an operating ENGIE subsidiary |
| ENGIE Group context | Parent (EUR 95B revenue) | ENGIE Group reported 2024 revenue ~EUR 95B + EBITDA ~EUR 15B; EVBox contribution not separately disclosed but estimated under 0.5% of group revenue at this writing |
| Editorial. Why this matters | Strategic context | EVBox is the marquee European-utility-charging-M&A cautionary tale. Similar moves by Shell (Recharge Solutions, acquired NewMotion 2017 + Greenlots 2019), BP (Chargemaster + bp pulse), and Equinor (limited involvement) have generally been more successful than ENGIE-EVBox due to better integration + product positioning. The EVBox story is useful as a benchmark for the operator-vs-hardware-only-model debate |
EVBox founded in Amsterdam by Kristof Vereenooghe; one of Europe's first AC charging hardware-and-software companies, riding ahead of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV/Nissan Leaf launches that would seed the European EV market
Acquired by Engie at undisclosed valuation; becomes the French utility's flagship hardware + software charging brand and clears Engie's path to lead European workplace deployments
Crosses 100,000 charge points shipped across 70+ countries; Engie's largest-by-volume charging brand globally with deep workplace and apartment-block channel presence
SPAC merger with TPG Pace Beneficial II (TPGY) collapses Dec 30 by mutual termination; EVBox stays private under Engie - the only failed Big-4 charging SPAC of the 2020-2021 wave
Restructures with layoffs and exit from US DC fast-charging hardware market; rolls back the failed transatlantic strategy and refocuses on European AC chargers + Engie's commercial estate
Crosses 600,000 charge points shipped lifetime; refocuses on European AC and Engie's commercial estate with EU 27 + UK + select APAC as core markets after US exit
Launches Liviqo G3 commercial AC charger line with OCPP 2.1 + ISO 15118-20 plug-and-charge; renews European workplace product portfolio post-US exit and shifts focus from hardware to software-managed fleet
Network of EVBox-equipped Engie sites surpasses 220K active ports across France/Belgium/Netherlands/Germany; Engie reports EVBox unit reaching contribution-margin breakeven for first time