In the US, most electric vehicle owners say public chargers are easy to use. That is, when they actually work.
New JD Power survey results that while public charging stations are a a little easier emerging these days, defective chargers degrade the experience and hinder EV adoption. This is not good because the planet is getting hotter and electric cars are expected to play a key role to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transport sector.
Of the 11,554 battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners surveyed by JD Power, one in five said they “did not end up charging their vehicle during their visit,” the report said. And of drivers who didn’t charge, “72% said it was because the station was malfunctioning or not working.” The findings reflect less UC Berkeley study which made headlines earlier this year.
Besides faulty chargers, the study looked at several other factors, such as price and “ease of payment.”
Overall, JD Power found that US EV owners are less satisfied with Level 2 public chargers in 2022 than they were last year. Using a 1,000-point scale, EV drivers gave Tier 2 stations an average score of 633, down from 643 in 2021. Tier 2 chargers can charge a battery electric vehicle in just a little four hoursfar ahead of a standard residential outlet (over 40 hours).
In contrast, JD Power’s survey found that satisfaction with Level 3 chargers — also known as DC fast chargers — remained flat over the year, with an average score of 674. Level 3 chargers can fill the of the EV’s battery to 80% in just under 20 minutes, but they are much less often.
When it comes to price, the study found that tolling costs weighed on driver satisfaction scores across the board. Refuting this point, a separate study of 2,040 US adults (paid by an EV finance company principle) found that a staggering “81% believe that buying electricity is too expensive”.
Among electric vehicle charging companies, Tesla led the pack in JD Power’s survey as the most liked station operator, while EVgo and Blink came close behind.