41 E-Mobility Engineering | July/August 2026 conventional trucks, improving efficiency, reducing dependency on storage and lowering emissions. This automation has since expanded. In November 2025, Kempower announced that its local logistics partner Posti had deployed a highpower Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 electric truck to carry charging satellites, power cabinets and modules from three factories to the finished goods warehouse, as well as components from local subcontractors to the factories. This electrification of intra-facility transport contributes directly to the company’s sustainability targets. Kempower’s most significant recent manufacturing expansion is its facility in Durham, North Carolina (USA), which officially opened in June 2024. The leased 14,000 m2 (154,000 ft2) space represents the company’s fourth factory globally and its first outside Finland. The Durham factory is designed to produce NEVI-compliant DC fast chargers for the US and Canadian markets, supporting CCS, NACS and CHAdeMO connectors. A notable aspect of Kempower’s manufacturing approach is the integration of cybersecurity standards into production. The company has received ISO 27001 certification for two consecutive years, covering chargers, ChargEye charging management software and back-end systems. Kempower’s trade-off Kempower’s modular local production model offers distinct advantages: exceptional flexibility (no retooling needed to change power ratings), reduced capital risk (operators can ‘pay as they grow’) and supply chain resilience (local sourcing in two regions). The company’s transparency on quality metrics and sustainability targets also distinguishes it from competitors. However, there are trade-offs. Kempower is smaller than either ABB or Tesla, although it has declared the ambition to become one of the top five global players in the DC charging market by 2030. The company’s reliance on local sourcing, while beneficial for quality control, may limit its ability to scale as rapidly as competitors who tap global supply chains. Moreover, the modular architecture imposes a per-module cost floor that monolithic designs might undercut at high volumes. Perhaps the key takeaway is that Kempower has designed its manufacturing process around the physical constraints of power electronics (heat, modularity, serviceability) rather than around corporate legacy or ecosystem lock-in. ChargePoint’s asset-light partnership model ChargePoint represents the most radical departure from the manufacturing models discussed so far in that its policy is not to own any factories. Instead, the company has pivoted to an assetlight, partnership-driven model. This centres on co-developing hardware with strategic partners and manufacturing through global electronics giants, while focusing its internal engineering resources on software, network operations and quality validation. This strategy positions ChargePoint not as a hardware manufacturer in the traditional sense but as a charging ecosystem orchestrator. In February 2024, ChargePoint announced significant expansion of its relationship with AcBel Polytech and Kinpo Group. AcBel, a Taiwanese power supply manufacturer with 40 years of expertise in power design, became ChargePoint’s co-development partner for hardware. Kinpo Group – which owns four companies, 24 production bases and employs more than 50,000 people worldwide – took responsibility for large-scale manufacturing. The partnership combines three complementary capabilities: AcBel’s power electronics design expertise, Kinpo’s lean supply chain and automated production technology across 24 global bases, and ChargePoint’s market position, software platform and charging network know-how. Kinpo’s manufacturing credentials are substantial. The group has 50 years of experience in lean supply chain and automated production technology, with capabilities spanning semiconductors, consumer electronics, smart home appliances and industrial IoT. Its Thai production base features remote situation rooms with real-time monitoring systems, enabling sales, business, R&D and manufacturing units to coordinate across time zones. Advanced test facility ChargePoint’s approach to ensuring quality without owning factories is based on its in-house engineering validation capabilities and a structured product development life cycle that operates independently of manufacturing partners. ChargePoint’s engineering team Tesla Supercharger production has now transitioned to the V4 version of the system, which delivers up to 325 kW (Image: Tesla)
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