EV charging satisfaction continues to drop, J.D. Power says

Satisfaction with public charging during the first half of the year fell to the lowest level recorded in J.D. Power studies, and as electric vehicle adoption increases, industry leaders should be concerned, the research firm said.

Most consumers who are reluctant to buy an EV worry that public chargers are not available. Poor charger performance could be another hindrance, said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power.

The firm expects EV adoption to hit a hockey-stick curve in the next few years. EV sales are growing more than three times faster than public charger installation, Gruber said.

Automakers and public charging stakeholders, such as network operators and charger manufacturers, should improve the charging experience "before it become a runaway train," Gruber told Automotive News.

Charging satisfaction at both Level 2 chargers and Level 3 chargers declined in nearly every category of the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study released Wednesday. J.D. Power launched the study in 2021.

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— Hannah Lutz

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