Stellantis and GM charging station partner goes bankrupt

As Tesla’s NACS connector and Supercharger network are gaining critical mass, Stellantis and GM charging station partner Charge Enterprises – helmed by a longtime GM and Ford executive – has filed for bankruptcy.

The company announced its plans to implement a restructuring plan that will hand its business over to its senior lender, Arena Investors, according to Bloomberg. The company has longtime Ford and GM exec Mark LaNeve on its executive team as president.

Stellantis, which just adopted Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), partnered with Charge Enterprises last year to install EV chargers at its 2,600-plus dealerships across the US. The company also installed chargers for Volvo, Ford, and General Motors. 

Charge Enterprises said that it started polling creditors on its restricting plan earlier this week, according to Bloomberg. The company has a book value of more than $114 million compared to liabilities of around $48.7 million.

The company, based in New York, provided end-to-end project management services in electrical, broadband, and EV charging markets, and had a revenue of $132.3 million in Q3 of last year, compared with $185.9 million in the third quarter of 2022.

As for whom to blame, Charge Enterprises said it’s mostly due to its dealings with investment adviser Korr Acquisitions Group Inc. and its former chairman, Kenneth Orr. According to Automotive News, the company said it was scheduled to have access to around $10 million held by Korr Acquisitions, but when the company needed that cash flow, it was “unexpectedly and unjustifiably unavailable.” The company later learned that the cash had been shifted to other companies affiliated with Orr.

Charge Enterprises then sued Korr and its former chairman, but Korr and Orr argue that the case lacks merit in that Charge Enterprises had regular access to account statements and that the firm had authority to use the money to cross-collateralize accounts.

The company follows a handful of other EV companies filing Chapter 11s, including EV maker Lordstown Motors Corp. and EV parts maker Proterra and Electric Last Miles Solutions Inc. Our Next Energy (ONE) has also announced layoffs, as well as LG Energy Solution laying off 170 employees recently.