Public EV charging experience is improving: JD Power survey

The public EV charging experience still has plenty of room for improvement—but a new report shows signs of progress.

JD Power’s 2024 US Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study identified “signs of improvement,” with overall satisfaction up for a second straight quarter, per a news release.

Improving the public charging experience is a key priority as the EV sector aims to boost adoption of plug-in cars. JD Power released data earlier this year indicating that EV purchase consideration was slightly down from last year, in large part because of charging woes.

The new survey, conducted in collaboration with EV research firm PlugShare, polled 9,605 owners of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the first half of 2024 on 10 factors impacting their charging experience, including ease of charging, payment ease, and charging speed. It examined satisfaction with both Level 2 and DC fast chargers.

Satisfaction with DC fast chargers rose to 664 on a 1,000-point scale, up 10 points YoY. Satisfaction with Level 2 charging dipped to 614 points, three points lower than the same period in 2023.

“While the customer satisfaction scores for public charging continue to prompt concern, the results offer reasons for optimism,” Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at JD Power, said in a statement.

He noted that for Level 2 charger users, satisfaction improved in five out of 10 categories, while satisfaction rose in six out of 10 categories for DC fast charger users, boosting the overall results.

Some of the highlights:

• EV owners were less satisfied with charging speed at Level 2 chargers this year, but more satisfied with the speed of DC fast chargers.
• EV drivers prefer automatic payment systems over other methods like using a credit or debit card.
• Reliability remains a major issue; 19% of respondents reported not being able to charge at a charging station, largely because of chargers being out of service or not working.

JD Power found that Tesla opening up access to its Supercharger network contributed to improved satisfaction with DC fast chargers.

“While this year’s study points to hopeful signs that the industry is moving in the right direction, concerning issues remain,” Gruber said. “Too often public charging is not a satisfying experience for EV owners. One issue is sheer availability. Sadly, the growth of public chargers, and especially DC fast chargers that EV owners increasingly favor, is not keeping up with the number of EVs in service.”