Oleg, good afternoon. Before our meeting, I rewatched our last interview. Back then, EV Point had around 100 charging stations in Moldova and Romania, and your first parking lots were just coming under management in Chișinău. Now you’ve launched a second company—EV Point Parking Systems—and it seems like you’ve made major strides both in expanding your charging network and in the parking business.

You're right. In terms of charging stations, we’re now at around 150. As for parking, we have 8 operational lots, 5 in the installation and launch phase, and about 10 more currently in negotiations.

That’s a big step forward. And while the charging station network used to feel like more of an "elite" service—I'm a combustion engine driver, so not your target audience, and EVs still aren’t the majority on Moldovan roads—your parking network appeals to a much wider range of customers. I use your EVParking app almost daily. It's super convenient to pay for parking right from the car.

I’d have to disagree with you on the “elite service” point. Yes, electric vehicles aren’t the majority in Moldova yet, but according to the National Center for Sustainable Energy (CNED) and the Public Services Agency, between 2018 and 2024, more than 57,000 electric and hybrid vehicles were registered. Their share of the total fleet has grown to 6.3%. Seven years ago, it was less than 0.5%.

You mentioned 57,000 electric and hybrid vehicles. What about stats for your parking operations?

I’ll give you just one month’s numbers. Across the entire system we operate, we handle nearly 600,000 entries and exits per month—so about 20,000 per day.

That’s impressive.

And you have to understand—that’s 99.99% uninterrupted operation. Any malfunction in a parking lot means stress for someone, someone running late, or conflict. The only thing we can't fully control is accidents—when a driver is inattentive and disrupts the system. We work to eliminate all other operational failures. A parking lot has to run 24/7/365. So, the backbone of our success is our team. I’m the CEO, and we’re a group of founders, but none of this would’ve happened without our team. We built a 24-hour business, and our team has always been—and still is—ready to go all in. If your technical or IT director doesn’t fully buy into the vision, if you can’t call them after 6 p.m. in an emergency, then a business like ours simply won’t survive. In fact, I’d like you to include some of our key team players in the interview.

Agreed. But first, let me ask you a couple more pressing questions. I drive around the city daily for meetings, and parking is a major pain point. Almost every trip turns into a tactical operation: Where will I try to park? What’s the backup plan? How much extra time do I need to leave to find a spot? So if you grow from 7 to 20 or more parking lots, that would really make life easier…

Go ahead—ask away.

From what I understand, your main clients now are supermarkets, shopping malls, and retail stores?

Also residential and office centers. For example, the Artima complex in Sculeni is a mixed-use residential and office center. And to anticipate your next question—why do they choose us instead of handling parking themselves—it’s not just because we’ve built serious expertise (as I mentioned, 600,000 monthly vehicle movements). We’re also willing to implement non-standard solutions. For example, offering discounts on parking if the driver makes a purchase at the store that owns the lot. Or enforcing rules to prevent tenants with reserved spots from using public ones just because they’re closer to the elevator.

Interesting. Could you offer a parking solution for the City Hall too, or do you only work with gated lots?

Our partner in the Czech Republic has long implemented municipal parking solutions. It’s a full package. It includes gated lots like the ones we currently manage. It also includes Park and Ride lots—where you park your car on the outskirts and take public transport into the city. If the city decides to support it, we can even issue discounted or free public transport tickets to people who park there instead of driving into the city center.

But what about downtown? Where you have to set up parking along the street, and gates aren’t an option?

We’ve got that covered too. That’s street parking—curbside parking paid through an app. The only thing local authorities need to take care of is enforcement. In Prague, for example, the parking company doesn’t deal with violators. That’s up to the municipality—ticketing, booting, fines, that’s their responsibility. What we can do is enable smart control. For instance, a patrol car drives along the street, and the system identifies in real time which cars have paid and which haven’t.

So the ball’s in the city’s court?

Exactly. And I think all branches of government involved should stop postponing this. A system like this would make parking easier in the city center and in all high-traffic areas. We feel that the municipal authorities are open and willing to have constructive conversations. What’s needed now is initiative and goodwill from the legislative branch to provide the legal foundation for these kinds of projects.

Let’s hope our interview gets read and makes it clear that the technical solution already exists—now it’s up to the lawmakers. Now, send me the contact info for your key team members. We agreed to include them in the interview, and I’d like to talk to them.

Natalia Ivanova, Commercial Director of EV Point and EV Point Parking Systems

Natalia, how long have you been with the company?

When I joined the company three years ago, our team consisted of just five people, including the directors. At that time, EV Point had about 5,000 customers, and EV Point Parking Systems hadn’t completed a single project yet.

But times change! We won a tender to install a parking system for one of the largest supermarket chains in Moldova, built a strong team, launched a 24/7 call center, and began expanding into Romania.

Today, we’ve successfully completed eight Smart Parking projects. Our network now serves over 20,000 customers—and that’s just the beginning. We’re still growing, evolving, and working to make the world a better place!

Success always comes down to teamwork. What are your plans for the company’s growth in 2025?

In 2025, our goal is to make EV Point Parking Systems even more visible on the market. That means more parking lots under our management and, of course, introducing even smarter solutions—so parking becomes a real pleasure for everyone. Our EVParking app will be like a magic wand: it’ll find an available space, reserve it instantly, and handle payment like a pro.

As for the charging stations—new EV charging hubs are on the horizon, along with continued expansion in Romania. So 2025 is shaping up to be a breakthrough year for us.

How important is it to you personally to work in the “green” sector of the economy?

It’s simple. We’re doing something that genuinely matters for the sustainable development of cities and a cleaner future. Our charging stations aren’t just power points—they’re superheroes building the infrastructure that accelerates the shift to electric vehicles, ultimately reducing CO₂ emissions.

And our smart parking solutions? They work like magic for cities: they help cut traffic congestion and reduce the time spent searching for parking, which also eases the burden on the city and lowers emissions. The city breathes easier. We’re not just a business—we’re part of making cities more livable and more eco-friendly!

Danil Shtefaniuk, Chief Technology Officer

How did your mobile apps evolve in 2024?

2024 was a year focused on system stability and service optimization. The EV market saw rapid growth during the COVID and post-COVID periods, and by 2024, we realized that EV Point needed a major overhaul. This allowed us to support further growth and provide customers with a more seamless and user-friendly experience. We also launched the EV Parking app, which quickly gained popularity among drivers.

What’s planned for 2025?

2025 is all about new opportunities. We’ve already rolled out Apple Pay and Google Pay integration in our apps, and support for MIA is coming soon. Being able to pay in the most convenient way is one of the top factors users consider when choosing a service, and we’re working hard to make that process as smooth as possible.

We’re also expanding our service coverage. We plan to launch in a new region—Transnistria. That means users will be able to drive from Tiraspol to Timișoara using only EV Point charging stations. Impressive, right?

Another big step: integration with European charging networks. We’re working on implementing roaming with the largest EV charging networks in Europe. This will allow users to drive across the continent and charge their vehicles through EV Point.

We’re also introducing Autocharge technology. This will eliminate the need to interact with the app during charging—just plug in the cable and charging starts automatically.

What about EV Parking?

We’re adding parking subscriptions. In 2025, users will be able to purchase and manage their parking passes directly in the app. We’re also adding features that let users get parking discounts simply by scanning a QR code. Our partners will be able to offer personalized promotions to customers. And we’re actively developing solutions for urban street parking. So yes, 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year.

Vadim Coțofane, Chief Technical Officer

Vadim, Oleg calls you one of the company’s pillars. He says that without solid technical solutions, the company’s success wouldn’t have been possible.

I appreciate that. But the company’s success is the result of the entire team’s efforts. My goal for 2025 is to be the kind of team member who doesn’t just strengthen the group, but makes all systems run at peak performance—like a perfectly tuned server on a Friday afternoon.

I won’t throw in a smiley face or a parenthesis—bad form. So let’s just say: smiles.

How did you manage to build the parking system so quickly? Or did you buy the EVParking app from someone else?

No, that’s our own development. As for the parking hardware, we rely on a leading Czech company. If you’re ever in Prague, take a look at the municipal parking equipment—it’s the same gear we use in Chișinău.

As for me, I’m planning to keep optimizing our processes—and yes, probably save the day a couple of times when critical issues pop up at the worst possible moment.

Vadim, I think I understand now why Oleg and the whole team rely on you so much…