- The United States now has over 250,000 public charging points, according to government data.
- That includes over 73,000 DC fast chargers and some 180,000 Level 2 plugs.
- Tesla accounts for around 50,000 of those charging points, but other players are making progress too.
A lack of electric vehicle charging options is one of the biggest factors keeping Americans from going electric. But that may be more of a perception problem. The U.S. is now home to over 250,000 public EV charging ports, according to the Department of Energy.
The department’s Alternative Fuels Data Center now lists 250,406 individual charging hookups across 80,543 station locations, as first spotted by CleanTechnica. That includes over 180,000 Level 2 plugs, north of 73,000 DC fast chargers, and some Level 1 options as well.
Even as electric car sales in America have hit a rough patch due to softening demand and the collapse of pro-EV policies like emissions regulations, the charging industry is booming. America’s EV refueling infrastructure continues to expand rapidly.
The number of combined Level 2 and fast-charging ports surpassed 100,000 in April 2021 and shot past 200,000 this past March. This year alone, the charging industry has installed over 5,000 fast-charging points and nearly 13,000 slower Level 2 ones. Both types of chargers are key for boosting uptake of electric cars. DC fast chargers make for shorter pit stops along highways. Cheaper-to-build Level 2 locations can top up a battery where dwell times are longer, like at a movie theater or while a car is street-parked overnight.
Tesla leads the industry in fast-charger deployments, with some 38,000 DC charging ports across its Supercharger network. But newer players are moving quickly too. Ionna, according to the government data, now has 120 locations with a combined 1,130 DC charging points. Rivian’s Adventure Network now includes 149 stations with a total of just over 1,000 DC chargers. ChargePoint has the most Level 2 chargers of any network by far, with over 76,000 plugs across the country.
There are other encouraging trends happening too; EV charging is getting more powerful and reliable too. The country will need far more chargers—and more visible ones—to convince the EV skeptics that they can give up gas. But the numbers show that availability is already pretty good and expanding fast.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com