What do American electric vehicle (EV) owners and iPhone users have in common? They both hope their chargers work. A recent Harvard study reveals that public EV charging stations across the country have an average reliability score of 78%. This means one in five EV chargers don’t work — making EV chargers less reliable than traditional gas pumps.

• Despite over 64K public EV charging stations nationwide, S&P analyst Ian McIlravey believes the current infrastructure is insufficient to support a drastic rise in EV numbers.
• S&P Global Mobility forecasts that the US will likely need ~1.2M Level 2 chargers by 2027 to adequately support the anticipated growth in EV adoption.

Power struggles: Even though sales are increasing, EV adoption in the US remains relatively low, with only 30% of Americans seriously considering purchasing an EV, according to Pew Research. This hesitation stems from concerns over inadequate charging infrastructure, battery performance issues, and higher upfront costs associated with EVs compared to traditional gasoline vehicles — further contributing to the slowdown of EV adoption.