There are currently more than 160,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the United States. That’s how many auto industry data analysts at S&P Global Mobility believe the country needs to install by 2030.
How many electric vehicle charging stations are there in the US?
S&P Global Mobility estimates that there are currently approximately 16,822 Tesla Superchargers and Tesla Destination Chargers in the United States, along with 126,500 Level 2 and 20,431 Level 3 charging ports.
The number of charging ports increased more in 2022 than the previous three years combined, with approximately 54,000 Level 2 and 10,000 Level 3 chargers added in 2022.
According to S&P Global Mobility, registration data shows that as of October 31, 2022, there are 1.9 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads — 0.7% of the 281 million vehicles in service.
The registration share of new light-duty EVs reached 5.2% in the first 10 months of 2022, and thanks to consumer demand, US government policies incentivizing EV purchases such as the Inflation Reduction Act, and rising interest and increasing investment, rapid growth will take place from the financial sector.
How many EV chargers the US needs
EV market share for new vehicles is expected to reach 40% by 2030, by which time the total number of EVs in service could reach 28.3 million, according to S&P Global Mobility forecasts.
The group estimates that around 700,000 Level 2 and 70,000 Level 3 chargers will need to be installed, including both public and restricted-use facilities.
To meet the charging needs of all these EVs, the United States will need to quadruple the number of EV charging stations between 2022 and 2025 and more than eightfold by 2030, even accounting for home charging, the analysts said.
By 2027, analysts expect that around 1.2 million Level 2 chargers and 109,000 Level 3 chargers will be needed nationwide.
And looking ahead to 2030, assuming there will be 28.3 million electric vehicles on US roads, a total of around 2.13 million Level 2 and 172,000 Level 3 public chargers will be needed, in addition to the home EV chargers.
Where EV chargers are going
Demand and installation across the 50 states will not be evenly distributed. Just 35 states have signed up for federal assistance under the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which will spend $7.5 billion on EV charging infrastructure. President Joe Biden has pledged that the federal government will pay for the installation of 500,000 chargers.
Traditionally, the four states with the highest number of EVs in service and new registrations are California, Florida, Texas and New York.
Because these states all have different approaches to reducing emissions — that is, California and New York prioritize this and Florida and Texas don’t — S&P Global Mobility attributes this growth to the size of their markets.
California leads by a wide margin, with nearly 37% of all in-service EVs and nearly 36% of all US light vehicle EV registrations from January through September 2022.
Florida is second with 7.4% of small vehicle registrations and 6.9% of EVs in service. Texas has 5.8% of EVs in service and 6.4% of EV registrations.
As an example of what is available and needed at the state level, Texas currently has about 5,600 Level 2 non-Tesla and 900 Level 3 chargers, but S&P Global Mobility predicts the Lone Star State will have about 87,500 Levels -2 and 7,800 Level 3 chargers will need chargers to support the expected 1.1 million electric vehicles in service by 2027.
85% of Level 3 chargers and 89% of Level 2 chargers are currently located in the 384 US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) as defined by the US Census Bureau. For Tesla owners, 82% of Tesla Superchargers and 83% of target chargers are in MSAs.
Ian McIlravey, analyst at S&P Global Mobility said:
The focus on urban areas follows where EVs are today, but the distribution needs to be much broader as vehicles grow in service and consumers need to charge along their routes.
And Graham Evans, director of research and analytics at S&P Global Mobility said:
In order for BEVs to establish themselves in the mass market, the charging infrastructure must do more than just keep up with sales of electric vehicles.
It needs to surprise and delight vehicle owners new to electrification, to make the process seem seamless and perhaps even more convenient than their petrol-fuelling experience, with minimal compromise to the vehicle ownership experience.
Electrek’s take
What the US really needs is an increase in the density of DC fast chargers and the strategic placement of those DC fast chargers in appropriate, well-lit locations.
It doesn’t make sense to have hundreds of tier 2 chargers along a highway. If you are on the road, you need practical fast chargers off the road.
That’s why Tesla Superchargers are great. Anyone who has used them on the New Jersey Turnpike, for example, knows what I’m talking about. They drive straight off, they’re in a conspicuous, well-lit area, and there’s food and restrooms right next to them. You are safe and comfortable. You’ll be back on the road within 20 minutes.
Compare that to my two-hour road trip from Boston to Vermont last week in my VW ID.4. Logan Airport has 6.5 kW electric vehicle charging points in the parking garage. They’re free, which is nice, but you can’t leave your car plugged in while driving.
What the heck do you do with a 6.5kW charging port at the airport? When you get back, do you sleep in your car?
Airports really should provide every EV parking lot with a Level 1 outlet that you can easily plug your car into while traveling. That would be a dream.
So I drove to Somerville, just a few miles from Logan, to a set of three Electrify America 150kW charging stations. I had to put my credit card in the kiosk to get into the parking garage where they were located. I had to look for her. They were isolated, near bathrooms, and it was 10 p.m. It was far from an ideal experience. The introduction of new charging connectors for electric vehicles must correct this situation.
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