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The EV market has been under pressure so far this year. And Blink Charging lowering its revenue guidance citing, quote, short-term softening of EV demand. We've got Brendan Jones, who is the CEO of Blink Charging with me on this. Great to see you again, and thanks for hopping on here. I mean, we were just showing the stock price. We were talking about what the outlook is. Take us into what you're seeing in EV demand right now.

Sure, and it's a great question, and it's absolutely a hot topic right now. So, you know, global vehicle EV sales are increasing, and globally, it was a 19% increase so far this year. So that's a very, very positive sign. But what we did see in the US market is there was a bit of a slowdown in EV sales in Q1. And that sort of trailed into Q2, with June, however, showing very promising signs. And it was up over year a year, uh, about by about 200,000 vehicles in the US. So, you know, there was a softness, a dip. Now, it appears to be bouncing back. Our June data for charger sales also reflected that same analysis. So we're going to have to monitor, uh, the US sales for the rest of the year. But then, conversely, if we look at European and, in particular, UK, EV sales and our charger sales and engagement there continue to increase. And that's more of our utilization model, where we own and operate the chargers. So globally, where more EVs are on the road, we're seeing higher utilization, and then higher service revenue as a company. So you got some softness, then you have a lot of positive, and then we see global growth continuing. That's the status as we see it.

We see increasing studies that show that EV drivers want to be able to charge in 20 minutes or less. Uh, and of course, the ranges vary, but all that considered, is that, is that possible? Is it possible to get into that 20 minute full charge range?

You, you can. But the question is, is there really need to it, need for fast chargers everywhere? And the answer is no. All the global studies, whether they come from McKinsey and several others, indicate that you need a 90% of the chargers globally, where vehicles charge, are going to be L2 chargers. So you charge the vehicles where they sit. And, unfortunately, the vehicles we purchase, they sit 95% of the time. So then, about 10% of the time, you need fast charging for when you're on a trip or you're going on regional travel, etc. And we have to focus on that healthy blend and that healthy ecosystem of charging. And A, it takes less capital to get there, and then B, it promotes the most advantages on charging. Once you own an EV, most respondents tell you, I charge mostly at home, or I charge mostly at work, or on an L2 charger. When I need a fast charge because I'm on a long trip, that's when I engage with DC.

I'm taking a look at the product revenue side of the business here. It was down 4% year over year. Uh, as you think about being able to generate demand going forward, what is that calculus for the company? How do you go out into a market like this, and understanding the environment, generate that demand that passes through to the financial performance?

Well, largely on the product sales, we follow the OEMs. So as sales increase, then our sales of charging services on the product side are going to increase as well. And most of those increases you're now seeing in the multifamily dwelling space and the fleet space. And where we have an advantage of it is we're a fully vertically integrated company. Uh, so we produce a significant portion of our chargers. And as a result, being a full-service EV infrastructure company, our margin is class-leading. So with vehicle sales rebounding now and increasing globally and indeed increasing in the United States, we see positive outcomes as we move forward. You know, there were some great months as we ended 2023, and we had a great first quarter. We definitely saw the lingering effect of slowdown in vehicle sales in Q2, but we see a bounce as we continue to move through Q3, and definitely a significant bounce into Q4.

Brendan Jones, who is the Blink Charging CEO, Brendan, great to see you. Thanks so much.

Absolutely.