Happy EV owner here (Nissan Leaf), but I can confirm the charging network is a disaster:
- Hard to use charging interfaces where you have to arrive to the station with an account already set up. Why can't you simply use your credit card like you do at a gas station?! (The article addresses this, but still…)
- Spotty density (sometimes near, sometimes far) of charging stations.
- Unreliable charging stations where you feel like it is a minor miracle when they actually work.
I almost never use the charging network opting to charge at home. For out of EV range trips, I use my hybrid.
Until EVs are cheaper than ICE vehicles, have the range of an ICE vehicle, and can be charged at the same rate as it takes to fill a tank of gas in a completely reliable manner, I don't really see widespread adoption of EVs in the US. On the other hand, sales of hybrid vehicles in the US are strong [0]
I also have a leaf and use it for 90% of household driving. As long as there is a second ICE vehicle available there are never any worries about capacity or charging. Even charging overnight off 120V is sufficient since i dont do much late night driving.
It's easy for people who havent lived with an electric to forget about home charging as there is no gasoline equivalent. I think we need more infrastructure to make chargers available to people without off-street parking. Many of these chargers could also be publically available. We need more public-private partnerships or companies who are willing to take on the risk of mass installing chargers.
- Hard to use charging interfaces where you have to arrive to the station with an account already set up. Why can't you simply use your credit card like you do at a gas station?! (The article addresses this, but still…)
- Spotty density (sometimes near, sometimes far) of charging stations.
- Unreliable charging stations where you feel like it is a minor miracle when they actually work.
I almost never use the charging network opting to charge at home. For out of EV range trips, I use my hybrid.
Until EVs are cheaper than ICE vehicles, have the range of an ICE vehicle, and can be charged at the same rate as it takes to fill a tank of gas in a completely reliable manner, I don't really see widespread adoption of EVs in the US. On the other hand, sales of hybrid vehicles in the US are strong [0]
[0] https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/electric-vehicle-buyer-in...