Excitement about the EV revolution in the United States is growing fast, despite the fact that the U.S. is lagging behind the rest of the globe in EV adoption. China is currently the global leader in EV adoption. Statista predicts, “Revenue in the global electric vehicles market will reach US $561.30 billion in 2023. We expect revenue to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.07% from 2023-2028, resulting in a projected market volume of U.S. $906.70 billion by 2028. The most revenue will be generated in China (US $292,100.00 million in 2023).”

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2023 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2023), “We project that electric vehicles (EVs), including both battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), will account for between 13% and 29% of new light-duty vehicle sales in the United States in 2050.” New BEV and PHEV sales combined currently account for around 5% of new vehicle sales in the U.S. In the United States, EV charging problems are among the most significant barriers to EV adoption.

There are many barriers to EV adoption, including EV charging

Along with EV charging challenges and the resulting range anxiety they create, many other barriers are slowing EV adoption in the United States. Those include high vehicle prices (although, of late, with rebates, passenger EVs are less expensive than their gasoline or diesel equivalents.) Other barriers include the limited availability of new and used models, insufficient aftermarket and repair support, and insufficient knowledge from the car-buying public about available incentives.

What is range anxiety?

Those considering buying an EV for the first time face many barriers to making a decision. A fundamental problem for this group is range anxiety, which is the fear of becoming stranded by running out of charge. Consumer behavior with a fossil fuel powered car is most often, drive until the fuel light comes on, then find a gas station. Because stations are plentiful, there is no range anxiety. Running out of charge while driving an EV necessitates a call for a tow truck, so the penalty for not having enough range is high. This is particularly problematic in rural communities.

Although EV range has increased quickly since EVs hit the market, range anxiety concerns linger due to EV charging problems. Bloomberg estimates state that the average EV range was 290.8 miles in 2022. According to Bloomberg, “Just five cars, with an average range of 309 miles, were responsible for 70% of sales in 2022.” Those vehicles were the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3, GM’s Chevy Bolt EUV, and the Tesla Model S. With a range of nearly 300 miles daily, driving for commuting to work and other routine transportation is no longer a range anxiety issue.

The United States Department of Transportation reports the average daily driving miles for U.S. residents to be almost 40 miles per person daily. Range anxiety problems arise when drivers are planning longer trips or are uncertain where to get a charge in case they forget to recharge overnight. People also have to worry about whether they have enough charge to get home, so they can charge overnight, in addition to going about their daily driving routine.

The user experience for EV charging is poor

Drivers need to ensure they have the correct cable, connector, and app to start the charging process once the vehicle is maneuvered close enough to the charger to be plugged in. Each charging station may be provided by a different vendor, meaning consumers need multiple apps and must learn and sign on with various systems to charge. And even if they have these apps, connection, authentication, and billing problems often necessitate the driver to move the car to another station or a different set of chargers entirely.

The availability of charging stations is a major EV charging problem

EV charging problems are multi-faceted, and all are problems that slow EV adoption. Tesla’s opening of their supercharger stations to other EVs earlier this year relieved some of that problem, but other related issues exist. There currently needs to be more availability of charging stations, especially in rural areas. State-wide, availability varies.

California is the EV adoption leader. According to the California Energy Commission (CEC), EV sales made up 16 percent of all new vehicle sales in California in 2022, well above the national average of 5%. As a result, California has more charging stations than other states. Electrek reported: “Based on sheer number of charging outlets alone, the top three states in the US are California, New York, and Florida, respectively.” Therefore, California EV drivers can go on long trips within the state more confidently than drivers in other states.

Wait times and technical issues plague EV charging stations

Many EV charging apps will show current charging availability in real-time, allowing for reserving a charging parking spot. Despite this, problems with wait times have been an issue for EV owners, discouraging those considering buying an EV. According to JD Power’s 2022 U.S. EVX Public Charging Study results, “A whopping 20 percent of respondents who went to a public charging station didn’t even charge their vehicle. The reason for this—cited by 72 percent of those who didn’t charge—is that the station was somehow broken or out of service.”

“Public charging continues to provide challenges to overall EV adoption and current EV owners alike,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of global automotive at J.D. Power. “Not only is the availability of public charging still an obstacle, but EV owners continue to be faced with charging station equipment that is inoperable.”

People are worried about safety when plugging in an EV

Plugging high power cables in is a worrisome task to many people. They worry about electric shock, and while they’ve become comfortable putting flammable fuel into their gasoline-powered cars, this comfort level was achieved over decades. In bad weather situations, such as rain, this worry about safety gets worse.

In commercial applications like charging trucks and buses, the safety worry is more extreme, given the considerable size and weight of the cables. In some cases, union drivers and operators in ports and transit facilities are prohibited from handling cables, making wired EV charging adoption even more of a problem for those users.

Wireless EV charging solves EV charging problems

One of the technical issues that traditional, plug-in EV charging stations have is cord degradation. Over time, cords can wear out with use. The cords then become inoperable or become a safety threat. Another problem many EV drivers have faced is figuring out the different connector plugs available and ensuring they have the correct connector type to charge at the station they plan to visit.

Adapters exist to allow using different EV charging station plug types, but this adds another layer of difficulty for the EV driver. Leading plug types include Tesla’s NACS, (North American Charging Standard) and the Combined Charging System (CCS) that other vehicles use. Tesla’s NACS is gaining traction and will soon become the new standard.

Wireless EV charging stations by InductEV charge without cords, which is safer and more convenient

Wireless EV charging works through magnetic induction, similar to the process of wirelessly charging a cell phone, that most people are familiar with. A key difference is that the energy travels through the air, known as an “air gap,” from a charging pad in or on the ground to a receiving unit on the underbelly of the EV. This eliminates the many problems associated with charging cords and connectors, including cord wear and plug incompatibility. InductEV is the leading company in the wireless EV charging space, and the company is proud to be a part of the solution to the EV charging problem.

More importantly, there are no moving parts in a wireless charger, and the system is installed underground, making it impervious to the elements, weather, and damage caused by vehicles running into them.

John F. Rizzo, Managing Director, Strategy & Corporate Development at InductEV, said: “Adoption of wireless EV charging, or any new technology, comes down to two main decision criteria: Does the new solution save money or create economic value, and is that value easy to use and access by impacted people? If both of these are true, the technology is adopted at a rapid rate. In the case of wireless charging over wired charging, operating expenses are reduced by about 50% annually, and total cost of ownership is generally 30% lower. And what’s more convenient and easy to use? Wrestling with an oversized cable in a rainstorm, or just driving over a place on the roadway and automatically charging without getting out of your vehicle? Wireless charging is autonomous, and no apps are needed.”

With the InductEV system, the vehicle self-authenticates and charges automatically without needing an app. This makes the experience more user-friendly, easier, and faster. It helps corporate customers have complete control and reporting on where their vehicles are, how they are charging, and the costs to charge, all in real-time, without driver intervention.

Wireless electric vehicle charging is safe

Aside from having no cords to handle or plugin, the wireless EV chargers emit a harmless magnetic field that only is activated when a pad and vehicle are over one another, and an electronic handshake validates that the charging can happen once the vehicle is parked. No energy is transmitted without the vehicle-to-charger pairing. This means that the charger embedded in the pavement is no different than walking over a maintenance hole cover or grate in the sidewalk or street. And even when the vehicle is charging, the energy emitted into the area where passengers are seated is far below what is transmitted by the seat warmer.

The technology for magnetic charging has been used since the late 1970s in magnetic resonance machines used for medical diagnostics, so hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people have safely experienced this technology for decades.

Availability of EV models is improving

Historically, EV models have been few, which has caused a barrier for early EV adopters. Tesla Motors was the first mover in the EV space for the United States and globally. The company still enjoys the lead in the U.S., with the most significant amount of EVs on the roads. However, many new companies and well-established automakers are releasing more EVs yearly. According to CNET, “There are over 40 electric cars, trucks and SUVs on sale in the U.S. today — more than ever before.”

New entrants to the EV market such as Fisker, Lucid Motors, Faraday Future, Vinfast and many others, are shaking things up considerably. Tesla may only hold on to their lead for a short time, depending greatly on what happens with Chinese automakers. Many low-priced, efficient EV models are available in China, which, if they become widely available in the U.S., would disrupt the U.S. market. The lack of a low-priced economy model has plagued the U.S. EV industry from the beginning, which is still a problem today. There are rumors that a low-priced Tesla is in the planning stages, but the details are few.

EV charging for multi-family dwellers

EV charging is highly convenient for homeowners, who can enjoy lower charging costs overnight due to time-of-use (TOU) rates. However, home charging can come with a significant cost. In many cases, the home would need an expensive electric panel upgrade, up to thousands of dollars, to accommodate the EV charger. Despite that, the EV-driving homeowner is, for the most part, vastly better off than most EV-driving multi-family dwellers, such as condominium and apartment residents.

The National Association of Home Builders reported: “According to a 2019 survey conducted by the American Housing Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 43.9 million residences, or 31.4% of housing in the U.S. today, are multi-family.”

Many problems exist with multi-family dwellers who want to switch from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs. Multi-family EV charging is one of the most under-served segments of the EV charging industry. Many challenges include securing homeowner association (HOA) approval and convincing property owners to install the charging.

Right-to-charge laws are addressing these issues. The laws require new parking spaces in multi-family units to include high-power electric connections in anticipation of installing EV charging. Fast Company reported: “Illinois’ governor signed the latest right-to-charge law in June 2023. Colorado, Florida, New York, and other states have passed similar laws in recent years.” These laws are also getting passed city-wide as well as state-wide.

A small amount of used EVs are available

Because EVs are new to the automotive industry, there is limited availability for used EVs. Due to demand, Tesla’s used car prices have been the highest among used EVs. Used car buyers are most wary of the condition of the EV battery, the most expensive and important part of the EV. Recurrent offers a very useful report on battery life for both EV buyers and sellers of used EVs.

Surging gasoline prices increase demand for EVs

Gasoline prices surged again in 2023, as they have many times, most dramatically in recent years in 2022. With each surge, demand for EVs increases. The cost of electricity is stable, and using electricity to power your vehicle is much less expensive than gasoline, even when gasoline prices are low.

Barriers to EV adoption include insufficient repair resources and aftermarket parts

Among gas-powered ICE vehicles, many companies have arisen to fulfill needs such as lower-cost replacement parts, known as the automotive aftermarket. Because EVs are so new, a growing number of these offer EV parts, but still not nearly the huge selection that is currently available for ICE vehicles. Another problem with EV adoption is that car mechanics have not been widely trained to work on EVs. Tesla operates its own service department, so repairing your Tesla shouldn’t be a problem. However, many Tesla owners have complained of long wait times for repairs.

Many people are not aware that lots of incentives exist for buying a new or used EV

Another barrier to EV adoption is lack of knowledge about incentives. The best-known incentive for buying a new EV is the $7,500 federal electric vehicle tax credit. However, many other incentives exist offered by states and utility companies. When combined, these credits can add up to significant savings.If you are considering buying a new or used EV, be sure to check with your state and utility company for incentives.

Written by Bill Pierce, Publisher EVinfo.net

EV Charging Problems Are Slowing Adoption of Electric Vehicles