The rollout of charging points in the US is much slower than the growth of electric vehicle sales

While electric vehicle registrations in the United States have increased by 142% since the start of 2023, the pace at which public charging facilities are growing has been only 22%, risking to undermine the current momentum of electric vehicle sales in America.

In September 2024, electric vehicle registrations in the United States reached 3.5 million units, according to data from the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC), cited by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.

This is a 142% increase since the beginning of 2023.

But the number of public charging points for electric vehicles is growing at a much slower rate of just 22 percent from the start of 2023, data from AFDC shows.

While all US states have seen an increase in electric vehicle registrations over the past 20 months, the number of public charging points is growing unevenly across the country.

If the US is to sustain strong growth in electric vehicle sales, it needs a faster rollout of public charging points, Reuters’ Maguire notes.

The lack of a standardized charging outlet and the still underdeveloped network of electric vehicle charging points have been some of the key obstacles to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

In the US, take-up rates have risen to make many EV fast-charging stations profitable. Despite this, the US still needs plenty of additional EV charging infrastructure to alleviate consumer concerns about the range and convenience of public fast charging.

Last year, there were an average of about 104 gas stations per 1,000 miles of road in the United States, compared with just 22 EV charging ports for the same distance of road, a study by the card management platform showed of smart fuel Coast in 2023.

“As EV adoption continues to grow, providing convenient and affordable charging options is crucial to the continued growth and widespread acceptance of EVs. The transition to electric transportation requires a concerted effort to build a robust charging infrastructure,” the study’s authors wrote.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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