U.S. EV Sales by Year

NO. 21 | CHART FOR THOUGHT

  • Electric vehicle (EV) owners “refuel” their cars by charging at places like retail centers, at the office, and at home. The rollout of robust EV charging networks will play a critical role to support growing consumer demand thus providing opportunities for commercial real estate property owners to benefit from
  • EVs can be categorized as hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV), also known as full electric. For this chart’s purpose we will refer to EVs as full electric vehicles but wanted to note that both PHEVs and BEVs share a common plug-in charging feature. In 2022, 14mm cars were sold in the U.S. and EVs comprised about 800k of that total. The share of EVs sold increased from 0.1% in 2011, to 5.7% in 2022, resulting in many more electric vehicles on the road today
  • Global investment in EVs and EV charging infrastructure is forecasted to be half a trillion dollars through 2030 as many countries have set out zero-emissions goals. In the U.S., Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal in 2021 to invest $7.5bn to increase the number of EV chargers to 500k and increase EV market share to 50% in the span of five years[1]. Their aim is to provide convenient charging where people work, shop, and live
  • There are three types of EV chargers in use today. Level 1 (110-volt) will add between 2 to 5 miles for every hour of charge. Level 2 (240-volt) will add between 10 to 30 miles for every hour of charge and are commonly seen in office, retail, and multifamily properties. Direct circuit (DC), or fast chargers, will add between 100 to 200 or more miles usually in 30 minutes of charge. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy approximates there were only 144k EV chargers in the U.S. at the end of 2022. California had the largest number of chargers at 43k (30% of the total), followed by New York (9k), Florida (7k), Texas (6k), and Massachusetts (5k)
  • By implementing EV chargers within commercial real estate properties, it not only puts property owners ahead of the electrification trend but also provides an appealing amenity for tenants
    • The U.S. multifamily sector is made up of an estimated 44mm residents, or 31% of U.S. housing[2], and 80% of EV owners rely on charging at home[3]. By offering EV charging for residents, the likelihood of retaining and attracting a sizable demographic that reside within these properties that own an EV or are amongst the population making the shift, remains high
      • Kyle Chin, equity associate at Bellwether Asset Management further emphasized, “Given the growing levels of EV adoption, the Bellwether team has overseen the installation of several EV charging stations at multifamily properties, and continues to actively evaluate opportunities to meet the increasing demand. The ability to provide multifamily residents convenient access to charge their EV is a competitive advantage and added amenity that eliminates the need to go offsite to a public charger, which helps attract and retain residents.”
    • For retail properties, EV charging offers the convenience for EV owners to charge while they shop, which can help to increase retail foot traffic
    • As more workers are called back into the office and will need to commute, EV chargers on site provide the ease for office tenants to charge throughout their workday, but can also serve as an attractive tool for leasing
  • Furthermore, on the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) front, “For properties pursuing environmental or sustainability goals, having EV charging infrastructure contributes towards green building certifications like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). A globally recognized certification promoting environmentally conscious building design and features, and increasingly attracts tenants and investors,” remarked Malcolm Au, ESG analyst at Bellwether Asset Management

 

[1] The White House, “Fact Sheet: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal,” November 2021.

[2] National Association of Home Builders, “2019 U.S. Census Bureau American Housing Survey,” 2023.

[3] U.S. Department of Transportation, “Individual Benefit of Rural Vehicle Electrification,” February 2022.

Dennis Grzeskowiak

Principal

Mr. Grzeskowiak co-founded Bellwether in 2013 and has 20 years of experience in asset management and special servicing. At Bellwether, Mr. Grzeskowiak focuses on portfolio management and technology initiatives, with particular asset management expertise in debt as well as multifamily equity investments totaling over 33k units. Prior to forming Bellwether, he was Vice President of Asset Management at Trimont Real Estate Advisors, where he was responsible for a $2bn portfolio of performing and non-performing commercial real estate investments related to multiple property types throughout the United States. During his time at Trimont, Mr. Grzeskowiak developed a proprietary valuation cash flow model used to analyze over $30bn of debt and equity investments. Mr. Grzeskowiak has a B.A. in Economics and International Studies from Rhodes College.

Joe Mossotti

Principal

Mr. Mossotti co-founded Bellwether in 2013 and currently focuses on residential, corporate, development and hotel investments throughout the United States. Prior to founding Bellwether, he worked in the Asset Management / Portfolio Management group at JER Partners, a Washington D.C. based private equity firm. At JER, he was responsible for investment- and fund- level modeling as well as the disposition and workout of the remaining portfolio. Before joining JER, Mr. Mossotti worked at Billy Casper Golf Management. Mr. Mossotti holds a B.S. in Finance from Siena College, and is a licensed CPA.

Mitch Magoshi

Managing Director, Construction

Mr. Magoshi joined Bellwether Asset Management in 2018 after 15 years of experience in the construction industry. Prior to joining Bellwether, he most recently worked as a senior consultant with Gardiner & Theobald, Inc., an international construction project and cost management firm. Before joining G&T, Mr. Magoshi was a Construction Manager and Partner at Plant Construction Company, L.P., a leading general contractor in the San Francisco Bay Area. At Plant, he was involved in all aspects of the construction process from business development and preconstruction to project management and site supervision. Mr. Magoshi holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a minor in Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University.

Omar Vargas

Senior Vice President, Controller

Mr. Vargas joined Bellwether Asset Management, Inc. in 2018 and has over 15 years of professional experience. Prior to joining Bellwether, he was the Corporate Controller at Landmark Dividend LLC, a Los Angeles based real estate company. At Landmark Dividend, he was responsible for all aspects of the accounting, financial reporting, and asset management functions. Before joining Landmark Dividend, Mr. Vargas was an Audit Senior Manager at Deloitte, where he was responsible for overseeing various teams on real estate advisory services. Mr. Vargas holds a B.S. in Accounting from California State University, Long Beach, and is a licensed CPA.

Carolyn Leslie

Managing Director, Equity

Ms. Leslie joined Bellwether in August 2020 and is primarily responsible for the asset management of west coast office investments.  She has twenty years of commercial real estate investment experience, most recently as the Director of Asset Management at Atlas Capital Group, a New York based owner and developer, and oversaw the redevelopment of ROW DTLA.  Before joining Atlas Capital Group, she was at Watt Companies as a Senior Asset Manager responsible for an office, retail and multifamily portfolio.  Ms. Leslie has a B.A in economics from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School.

Patrick Foley

Principal

Mr. Foley joined Bellwether in 2014 and is currently responsible for coverage of corporate, development and residential investments in the United States. Prior to joining Bellwether, he was an associate at Cross Properties, a Philadelphia based multifamily developer. Mr. Foley has a B.S. in Economics with a concentration in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Easton

Managing Director, Equity

Mr. Easton joined Bellwether in April 2014, after having spent two years at NMS Properties, a Los Angeles based multifamily company. Prior experience includes two years at Mesa West Capital, a Los Angeles based commercial real estate finance company. Mr. Easton began his career in Los Angeles working in brokerage in 2007. He holds a B.A. degree in International Business from Loyola Marymount University.

David Chalison

Principal

Mr. Chalison joined Bellwether in 2016 and is responsible for supporting portfolio management functions for Bellwether’s institutional clients. Prior to joining Bellwether, he was Director of FP&A at Chronos Solutions, a Texas-based mortgage service company. Mr. Chalison received a B.S. in Finance from Santa Clara University and holds an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University.

Chris Carlson

Senior Vice President, Structured Finance

Mr. Carlson joined Bellwether Asset Management in July 2014 and is currently a Senior Vice President responsible for the performing residential whole loan strategy. He has fourteen years of experience in structured products and the secondary mortgage market. Prior to joining Bellwether, he was a risk analyst with Western Asset Management, where he was responsible for analytics on a $50bn portfolio of whole loans, structured mortgage products and private corporate investments. Mr. Carlson began his career as a member of the Fannie Mae Analyst program in 2005. He has an M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson and a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy from Washington & Lee University.

Michael Baracco

Principal

Mr. Baracco has been a part of Bellwether since its inception and is currently responsible for asset management coverage of office and hotel investments. Prior to joining Bellwether, he was a Senior Project Engineer at Lockheed Martin Corp. where he supported and ensured successful execution of multi-billion dollar contracts including satellites, flight modernization systems, and submarines. Mr. Baracco has an M.B.A. from the University of Denver and a B.S. in Physics from Washington & Lee University.