Electric vehicles (EVs) can be spotted on American streets more easily than ever before. Data from Kelly Blue Book shows that more than one million EVs were sold in the U.S. last year, the first time that many EVs have been sold in this country in a single year. Thanks to new EV tax incentives for consumers and continued investment in EV charging infrastructure from the federal government, 2024 is shaping up to be another record year in EV adoption.
As EV sales accelerate, EV charging issues threaten adoption. The lack of accessible, reliable, and easy-to-use EV chargers continues to fuel range anxiety for drivers and is a major sticking point for those on the fence about purchasing an EV. A recent report from AAA found that 56% of respondents saw a lack of reliable charging stations as their biggest concern about switching to an EV. The data makes it clear— we need to deliver a better EV charging experience to drivers.
When first-generation EV chargers were deployed, the focus was on getting plugs in the ground. As a result, chargers’ reliability, usability, and discoverability suffered.
Now that the first wave of adoption is over and the North American Charging Standard (NACS) has become the industry standard, next-gen chargers have new technology and requirements that put the driver experience first.
Delivering a better charging experience is the key to adoption. Traditional chargers require apps, accounts, and preauthorization fees before a driver can charge their car. Next-gen charging delivers businesses and their customers with a frictionless, end-to-end EV charging experience through a pay-as-you-go charging model without requiring drivers to pay a pre-authorization hold fee, download an additional app, or create a separate provider account. Creating a driver-friendly experience, akin to the way drivers of traditional cars can pump gas at any station with little to no hassle, will raise consumer confidence in EVs and have a massive impact on adoption.
Delivering a frictionless charging experience will save drivers time and help increase overall confidence in EVs.
The U.S. needs an EV charging system that is accessible to all. Closed networks are a thing of the past. Unlike first-gen EV chargers that require fobs, apps, or cards, next-gen EV chargers need to be compatible with all EV makes and models. Drivers need to be able to easily access any public or private charging platform at any time to charge their EV.
In addition, we need to install more EV charging stations at multi-unit dwellings (MUDs). Data from Avison Young shows that the U.S. is constructing more multi-unit housing than ever before—and significantly fewer single-family homes. Installing EV charging stations at MUDs allows properties to accelerate EV charging adoption, increase property value, and make the apartments more attractive to prospective tenants.
The range of EV models and diversity of EV drivers has never been greater. The non-Tesla share of all electric car registrations increased last year to 42.6%. However, concerns about the availability of EV chargers remain a roadblock to adoption. EV charging stations need to be easily discoverable to drivers to help curb range anxiety.
Drivers complain that many EV chargers are out of order when they get to them. A study from UC Berkley reveals that EV chargers don’t work between 20 and 30% of the time. Simply put, if EV drivers aren’t confident they have access to reliable charging, it’s unlikely they’ll invest in an EV. Real-time monitoring can be integrated with next-gen charging networks so outages can be caught and addressed immediately. This level of visibility into the status of charges across a network will cut down on issues and ultimately boost consumer confidence.
To help combat reliability concerns, next gen EV charging technology should be required to be Open ADR Alliance certified for direct demand response with major electricity providers. The OpenADR Alliance is a coalition of automakers, EV Infrastructure companies, and utility providers. It was created to standardize, automate, and simplify Demand Response (DR) and Distributed Energy Resources (DER) to enable utilities and aggregators to cost-effectively manage growing energy demand and decentralized energy production. This process will provide a major boost to EV charger reliability and help chip-away at range anxiety concerns. As an industry, we can also make an effort to install more EV chargers with lower power requirements, utilizing machine learning-based balancing. Automatically adjusting the charging output to an EV based on changes in electricity load is fundamental to maintaining energy balance and can increase charger reliability.
While there’s a long way to go before EVs are the dominant vehicles seen on American streets, the reality is that sustained government efforts on both the state and federal level, coupled with an explosion of private funding, means the transition to EVs is inevitable. As the transition picks up speed, stakeholders should come together to ensure the next generation of EV chargers prioritizes accessibility, discoverability, interoperability and reliability to deliver a better charging experience. Focusing on these areas is key to ensuring equitable EV charging across the U.S.
Hooman Shahidi is the Co-founder and CEO of EVPassport, the first technology-driven, electric vehicle charging hardware and software platform company. Hooman is widely considered an innovator and evangelist in the EV charging industry, helping to pioneer the first truly interoperable EV charging network.
