- A new study based on Harvard research has concluded that many charging infrastructure challenges still lie ahead.
- Chargers in the US scored a reliability score of just 78 percent.
- Large charging blackspots still exist in the US, with no access to public charge points.
Many things are holding back new car buyers from making the switch to EVs. While sales continue to grow, the rate at which EV sales have increased has cooled off significantly in recent months. One element that’s been parroted by many surveys is consumer worry that charging infrastructure isn’t up to snuff. And according to a new report, that seems to be an accurate assessment.
The study was based on a decade of data and found that charging stations in the US had a reliability score of just 78 percent — or, in other words, one in five chargers is broken. The research was conducted by a fellow of Harvard Business School and included data from more than 1 million charging-station reviews by EV drivers across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Read: Americans Now Less Likely To Buy An EV And Worry About Charging Options
The report says that EV charging stations are, on average, less reliable than traditional gas pumps. Other problems identified center around the country’s spotty charging network. The lack of access to publicly available charging is a huge concern for many. What’s more, states such as Washington and Virginia have entire counties that do not host a single public EV charger.
By and large, EV battery life has been improving, and recharge times are decreasing. This means that range anxiety could have less impact on potential EV sales. However, there’s a different anxiety potential EV buyers are facing: charging anxiety.
“Imagine if you go to a traditional gas station and two out of 10 times the pumps are out of order,” said the study’s lead researcher, Omar Asensio. “Consumers would revolt.”. Speaking to Bloomberg, he elaborated, “No one’s maintaining these stations.”
An earlier study by J.D. Power polled more than 8,000 drivers who shared similar concerns surrounding charging. Although there are more charging stations available in America now than ever, the number of people claiming that worries over charging options would dissuade them from buying an EV has grown by 3 percent to 52 percent.
