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47 States Fall Short Of Optimal Charger-To-EV Ratio: Report

Despite an industry-wide push towards mainstream EV adoption, there are still several barriers in the way. Chief among these is a lack of charging stations – in fact, according to a recent report, 47 U.S. states fall short of the optimal charger-to-electric-vehicle ratio.

According to an analysis by Here Technologies and SBD Automotive, as reported by Automotive News, Vermont (+1.3), Massachusetts (+0.3), and Rhode Island (+0.1) are the only U.S. states in which the ratio of all-electric vehicles and charging stations is considered optimal, underlining the immense challenge of the industry-wide electric-vehicle transition.

The GMC Hummer EV plugged in at a public charger.

Per the report, the ideal ratio of electric vehicles to publicly accessible Level 2 and quick-charge stations is, on average, nine to 10 electric vehicles per plug. However, the ratio varies across states due to differences in road networks, population densities, and EV adoption rates.

Notably, those U.S states with the highest number of electric vehicle registrations, including California, Texas, and Florida, face significant shortfalls in the optimal charger ratio, with the report indicating a ratio difference of -10 in California, -12.8 in Florida, and -12.1 in Texas. The states with the greatest charger ratio shortfalls include Alaska (-15.5), Oklahoma (-16), Hawaii (-17.3), and New Jersey (-18.8).

The report highlights that, contrary to expectations, the number of electric vehicles per public charger should actually increase as the market matures and charging technology improves. Despite this, many states are still struggling to install enough charging infrastructure to keep pace with the growing number of battery-powered vehicles. For example, California installed more than 6,000 chargers in the last year, but still lags behind the optimal ratio by a considerable margin.

Charger reliability also remains a concern, with some states like Hawaii and Alaska reporting that more than 10 percent of public chargers were out out of service. By contrast, states such as Massachusetts and Maine maintain high operational reliability, with nearly 98 percent of their chargers remaining functional.

In a study published in June, 46 percent of U.S. poll respondents who currently own an electric vehicle are likely to buy an ICE-powered vehicle as their next car, with charging concerns highlighted as the biggest issue.

According to GM CEO Mary Barra, the EV transition is expected to take decades. Earlier this year, GM announced that it would reintroduce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to its North American lineup to help bridge the gap to full electrification as public charging infrastructure continues to develop.

Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. What a joke.

    Reply
    1. My personal belief is that there was a top-down order from someone above the automakers that somehow coerced them all to go EV.

      Nobody with a brain would have unilaterally decided to move what, 70 million cars PER YEAR? from ICE to EV basically overnight with zero infrastructure to back that plan up.

      You’re talking about a company that never made an Escalade V because they were looking for a business case, but within a year or two, GM and every other major automaker decided to just shift to EV cold turkey and drop development of IC engines and platforms?

      Reply
      1. Batman: Just do clarify your claim.

        *GM had the first EV back in the early 90’s as a test bed in California. EV1.
        *Tesla was the first to bring out EV’s in mainstream. 2013 for the Model S. Earlier for the roadster.
        *GM had the Chevy Volt in 2010/2011. Then the compliance EV Spark in 2013/2014/2015.
        *Ford had the Focus EV in 2012/2013. Again, a compliance car.

        There were several others, but my point is that this didn’t just “within a year or two”. Facts matter.

        Reply
        1. Shut up.

          Over the course of about 2 years, between 2017-2020, every major automaker besides Toyota announced plans to go all-EV for 2030. Add in the ICE bans that were pushed in that time, as well.

          Your points prove nothing other than that in a span of 4 years of paltry non-Tesla EV sales of compliance vehicles, everyone decided that ALL EV EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE was a valid engineering, social, and economic solution to all of the world’s problems.

          Reply
          1. Shut up? What are you, 10 years old? Grow up.

            First, the “course of about 2 years, between 2017 and 2020” would be 3 years. Simple math.

            Second, my point proved everything and that you are just spewing garbage. EV’s are not just happening and “cold turkey”

            I’m willing to put up facts against BS all day long. But we’re going to do it civilly. So don’t come on here talking like that to me. Especially when you have nothing.

            Reply
  2. This analysis does not consider that most EV owners will charge at their homes or garages, so they don’t need public charging unless they travel away, and most travel less than their EV range. Where I live, every EV can travel far and never need any public charging. Only those who live in apartments will need a public charger, just as they need to visit a gas station for an ICEV.

    Reply
    1. That’s a nice fantasy.

      It took less than 5 minutes from the time I swiped my card until my gas needle was poking past the full mark. Tell me how unreliable public chargers are just like that.

      Where you live, nobody travels anywhere and does anything. That’s sad.

      Reply
      1. @GetReal: How is your comment even relevant to what GM Owner said? You are purposely trying to be combative and for what reason? They didn’t say anything about the amount of time it takes as your comment tries to say.

        They are saying what is real and true. Most EV drivers can and will charge at home or when at work. When doing so, the time it takes is irrelevant. Also, it’s a proven and documented case that most drivers go around 40 miles per day. No, not everyone. But the average does. When the average EV goes about 250 or more miles on a charge, the average driver can go 4 + days without charging.

        Reply
  3. What is the rate of gas station to ice vehicles? In city living where people don’t even have driveways or even off street parking will never work for charging. Drivers may park blocks away from where they live.

    Reply
    1. Less relevant because the usage is so much faster. Ever been in a huge line at a gas station? For the same number of vehicles at a 5 minute fuel up (to full) vs 15 minute (to 80%), you would theoretically need 3x more points of service (and the space for the geometry to navigate everyone to them)

      Reply
      1. And there are only so many locations with a high voltage DC cable n the ground capable of installing chargers…
        And numerous EPA regulations make putting one in extremely difficult and of course expensive…
        This is getting hilarious…

        Reply
        1. How about cities? Are we going to have charging deserts like food deserts?

          What’s the plan when you EVENTUALLY get the electric utility to increase their power generation and beef up their transmission capacity to the areas necessary for service? What happens when they start cutting those beefy charger cables for scrap? There is very little private ownership in these areas, less money available for those private owners to add charging infrastructure to their homes, and serious risk of theft.

          Anyone who thinks EVs are viable everywhere for everyone has never lived in or seen a bad area. They all need to get a grip.

          Reply
  4. Leave the market decide. No mandate is needed.

    Reply
    1. That’s what happens when the government sticks their virtue signalling noses in things they know nothing about. It’s doubly worse when an administration as inept as this one makes the decisions.

      Reply
  5. We need more than just Tesla in this Country to put up DC Fast Chargers in large numbers throughout the Country.

    The Administration should have just given Tesla the first 30% (Since they had the History of Scale already) of the bids just to get these out throughout the Country and then Throttle down and implement other Companies when ready but only if viable to do so.

    Reply
    1. Charging any non-Tesla outside of your own garage is laughable…
      The US is not even close to ready,,,

      Reply
  6. Every other article on this site right now is about GM’s awesome new ICE products… (that are all Damn nice)
    What’s up with the “All EVs by 2030” plan?
    🤣🤣🤣

    Reply
  7. If the Federal Government MANDATES EV ownership they should pay for the Chargers.
    Btw, almost HALF the owners of EVs regret their choice.
    Numbers don’t lie

    Reply
    1. If you want even more mandates, vote Team Mandate. For Freedom of choice vote Team Freedom and bring America back.

      Reply
  8. Mandatory EV Adoption should be pushed out to 2200.
    That would be reasonable .

    Reply
  9. The Climate Alarmists are over-reacting.
    Look how many people live in Mexico and Saudi Arabia and LOVE it!
    Buy more sunscreen and stop whining .

    Reply
  10. neighbor ran out of battery and had spend 3 days at a motel while it slow charged. $400 + $300 tow job.

    Reply
    1. All that proves is you have a dumb neighbor.

      Reply

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