Are We There Yet?

By Brent Gruber, Executive Director, Global Automotive at J.D. Power

The summer travel season is upon us. Many of us, myself included, will be taking to the roads and can look forward to the ubiquitous question from our young passengers, “Are we there yet?” This year road trips may look a little different as we also contend with record-high fuel prices. With rising fuel costs and an onslaught of new vehicle introductions, the timing seems ripe for electric vehicle (EV) adoption.

In talking with my colleague, Stewart Stropp, Managing Director of the recently released Electric Vehicle Consideration Study, purchase consideration is heading in the right direction - up 4-percentage-points over last year. However, although EV consideration is improving, one aspect that remains a stubborn thorn in the side of adoption is the fact that the lack of available public charging is the number one reason for rejecting EVs. Unfortunately, it is not just EV rejectors who feel public charging is inadequate in the U.S., it is a sentiment echoed by current EV owners as well.

I have spent a lot of time analyzing EV owners’ experiences, which includes the current state of public charging. Unfortunately, EV owners are consistently indicating that the availability of public charging is by far the least satisfying aspect of owning an EV. Multiple data points show that this situation is not heading in the right direction. After the first quarter of this year, overall public charging satisfaction has declined for the second straight quarter. This decline is not just relegated to slower Level 2 charging, as DC Fast Charging satisfaction also follows a similar path. On a 1,000-point scale, Level 2 charging satisfaction declines from 643 in the third quarter of 2021 to 634 after the first quarter of this year, while DC Fast Charging declines from 677 to 668 during that same period. Two things strike me with these numbers – first, satisfaction is certainly in decline at a critical moment for the industry, but secondly, these are not very high levels of satisfaction to begin with.

This August J.D. Power will be releasing its annual report on the U.S. public charging experience, which includes a much-anticipated second-quarter satisfaction update. I am eagerly looking forward to evaluating the upcoming benchmark data. “Are we there yet?” Tune in next month to find out.