At September’s Electrify Everything conference in Vancouver, there were lineups at the Plunk EV booth—not for chargers, but for handshakes and photos with Bob Purcell. The legendary auto executive who launched GM’s groundbreaking EV1 and has since advised Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway on transportation investments, Bob joined Plunk EV’s advisory board because he believes Kent Rathwell and his team are doing something nobody else in the world is doing. We sat down with Bob to find out why.
Plunk EV: Bob, you’ve been called the “father” and even the “godfather” of the modern electric vehicle. For those who don’t know your story, can you share how you got that reputation?
Bob Purcell: Well, I’ll tell you, I started in this business at fifteen years old as an apprentice mechanic. Worked my way through dealerships and garages, got myself through business school, and eventually found myself at General Motors. In 1994, GM’s CEO Jack Smith gave me what everybody thought was an impossible job: take this electric car program—which the board had basically put on the shelf—and make a business out of it.
That became the EV1. First modern, purpose-built electric vehicle from a major automaker. We had to reinvent everything—the motor, the brakes, the climate system, even how you manufacture a car at low volume. We ended up with 23 patents. The Smithsonian has one of our cars now. I always say I’ve seen this industry from the shop floor to the boardroom, and that EV1 program? That was the start of everything you see on the road today.
Plunk EV: After GM, you became an advisor to some of the biggest names in transportation and energy investing, including MidAmerican Energy Holdings—part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. What drew you to that kind of work?
Bob Purcell: Look, when you’ve spent your career building things—real products, real organizations—investors want to know if something actually works. Not just on paper, not just in a pitch deck. Does the technology work? Can you manufacture it? Can you make money doing it? Those are the questions I help answer.
MidAmerican was fascinating because Berkshire understands infrastructure. They think in decades, not quarters. Same reason Buffett invested in BYD back in 2008 when nobody in America knew who they were—they saw where the world was going. When I advise companies or investors, I bring that same long-view thinking. And I’ll be honest with you: most of what I see in the EV space doesn’t pass the test. A lot of flash, not a lot of fundamentals.
Plunk EV: You’ve also worked closely with Oak Investment Partners, one of the premier venture capital firms. What do institutional investors get wrong about EV infrastructure?
Bob Purcell: They chase the shiny object. Everybody wants to fund the next Tesla or the next fast-charging network because it looks exciting. But here’s what thirty years in this business has taught me: the real value is in the system, not the pieces.
You can have the best car in the world, but if people can’t charge it conveniently, you’ve got nothing. You can build a bunch of fast chargers, but if they’re in the wrong places and nobody uses them, you’re just burning capital. What wins—what actually builds value—is thinking about the whole ecosystem. That’s what I look for when I advise investors.
Plunk EV: That brings us to Plunk EV. You’ve said publicly that Kent Rathwell and his team are building “the only EV ecosystem” you’ve seen anywhere in the world. That’s a bold statement. What do you mean by it?
Bob Purcell: I don’t say things I don’t mean. I’ve looked at EV infrastructure companies on four continents. Kent and his team are the only ones I’ve found who truly understand that this isn’t about selling chargers—it’s about building a system that works.
Think about what Kent did with Sun Country Highway. He personally funded the installation of the world’s first cross-continental EV charging network. Drove it himself, coast to coast across Canada, in the dead of winter. Free to use. No government money. That wasn’t a business plan—that was a proof of concept for how transportation infrastructure should work.
What Plunk EV is doing now takes that thinking and makes it investable. Free Level 2 charging at destinations where people actually spend time. Battery storage that turns those sites into grid assets. Revenue models that don’t depend on charging fees. They’re building an ecosystem where everybody wins—the driver, the host, the grid, and yes, the investor. That’s what a real EV infrastructure company looks like.
Plunk EV: For investors who are evaluating opportunities in the EV infrastructure space, what should they be looking for?
Bob Purcell: Three things. First, does the team actually understand the technology, or are they just financial engineers? Kent’s been in this space since 2012. He knows chargers, he knows installation, he knows what works in a Canadian winter. You can’t fake that.
Second, is the business model sustainable without subsidies? Government money comes and goes. Plunk EV’s model works because it creates real value for hosts and builds recurring revenue streams. That’s durable.
Third—and this is the big one—does the company think in systems? Are they just selling hardware, or are they building something that gets more valuable over time as the network grows? Plunk EV is building an ecosystem. Every charger they add, every battery they install, every host relationship they create—it compounds. That’s how you build real enterprise value.
Plunk EV: Any final thoughts for our readers?
Bob Purcell: I’ve spent my whole career trying to prove that electric vehicles aren’t just good for the environment—they’re good business. We proved it with the EV1 back in the ’90s, even though GM didn’t have the patience to see it through. The world caught up eventually.
What Kent and the team at Plunk EV are proving is the next chapter: that EV infrastructure doesn’t have to be a money pit or a government project. It can be a real business that creates real value. I’ve looked all over the world, and I haven’t found anybody else doing what they’re doing. That’s why I’m proud to be part of it.
Bob Purcell is a member of Plunk EV’s Advisory Board. He is the founder of Purcell Advisory Group and former General Manager of GM’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Group, where he led the team that launched the EV1. He has advised major energy and transportation investors including MidAmerican Energy Holdings (a Berkshire Hathaway company), Oak Investment Partners, and Delphi Automotive.
