The public EV charging infrastructure in the US improved in the second quarter of the year, after having shown improvement in the first quarter as well, according to research conducted by consumer intelligence firm J.D. Power.

The J.D. Power 2024 US Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study, which was released last month, brings a fresh perspective to an often-discussed aspect of EV ownership that has always presented challenges: not only finding an EV charger, but finding an EV charger that works.

The available data “suggests the EV charging industry is on the right track despite continued challenges,” J.D. Power said. The problems the industry has so far encountered in providing working chargers have made some car buyers skittish at the prospect of purchasing an EV.

Overall satisfaction with DC fast charging increased by 10 points on Power’s measurement scale from 2023, moving from 654 to 664—an increase of 1.5%. On the other hand, overall satisfaction with Level 2 charging was down three points to 614 from 2023’s 617.

“Among users of Level 2 chargers, satisfaction improves in five of the 10 factors that make up overall satisfaction, and among DC fast charger users, satisfaction is up in six of the 10 categories,” Brent Gruber, Executive Director of EV Practice at J.D. Power, said.

Sentiment has improved since the 2023 edition of the report, which showed that customer satisfaction declined among Level 2 and DC fast charger users.

One major change driving the improvement in sentiment has been that owners of non-Tesla vehicles are slowly being given access to the extensive Tesla Supercharger network. Gruber said that the study found that “both Tesla and non-Tesla owners find charging their vehicles at Tesla Supercharger facilities is most satisfying,” while noting that the influx of non-Tesla vehicles “has caused some grumbling” among Tesla owners.

The study does indicate that satisfaction with the availability of Superchargers among Tesla owners has declined since the start of the year.

When it came to customer satisfaction with DC Fast Charging, the Tesla Supercharger network was ranked first with a score of 731, followed by ChargePoint in second place with a score of 631, EVgo scoring third with 566, and Electrify America in fourth with 559. For Level 2 charging, Tesla was again ranked at the top with a score of 658, followed by Volta in the second spot with a score of 645, ChargePoint in third with 626, and Blink fourth with 562.       

Source: J.D. Power