Editor’s Letter America’s EV charging infrastructure

Editor’s Note America’s charging infrastructure needs a lot of help.

nless you’ve been living in a Cretaceous-era cave Usomewhere in the wilderness, you’ve probably noticed the automotive industry has reached a point where carmakers are delivering cars with long-range batteries and quick-charging capabilities. You don’t have to be a MotorTrend reader or even a hardcore car enthusiast to be aware of the sea change underway in one of the world’s most impactful industries.

But because you are an MT reader, you may recall five years ago, when the Chevrolet Bolt EV became our 2017 Car of the Year. You might also remember we called out two numbers—238 and $29,995, to be precise. The first was the number of miles the Bolt EV could cover on one full battery charge; the second was its price after buyers collected their $7,500 federal tax rebate.

Today we’re seeing those numbers climb significantly: Hyundai and Kia have EVs that deliver more than 300 miles of range, and the Lucid Air (our 2022 Car of the Year) Dream Edition can travel up to 520 miles on a single full charge. None of these cars costs $29,995, and although the Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 do get close after the rebate, they are more expensive when equipped with the 300-mile-capable battery.

But here’s the thing: Although automakers and battery suppliers have moved quickly during the past few years, America’s charging infrastructure doesn’t allow these nifty new EVs to always take advantage of their own capabilities.

Speaking as someone who lives in Los Angeles, one of the friendliest and most accommodating American cities when it comes to EV ownership, there are still many issues with public charging stations. Like many Angelenos, I rent an old apartment from a stingy landlord who won’t even think about installing a home charger, so finding a way to replenish such a car adds stress to the day.

For example: A few weeks ago, I drove a Ford F-150 Lightning and wanted to stop to charge it on the way to my destination. I logged on the PlugShare app, looked at the map around my neighborhood, and headed to an Electrify America 150-kW charger. Of the station’s three fast chargers, two were in use, and one was broken.

About a week later I drove a Genesis GV60 and used a Level 2 charger around the corner from my place. I downloaded the Flo app and created a new account, and within minutes the GV60 was charging. I left it charging overnight and woke up, relieved, to a full battery. Great—except that charger has been broken every time I’ve tried to use it since.

In early June, I drove a Kia EV6 with a long-range battery to test the charging infrastructure in the middle of nowhere. After driving through desolate parts of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, I ran into several nonfunctional chargers at three Electrify America stations. Some were offline, while others would cease charging a few minutes after plugging in. During my five-day trip, only two of the stations where I charged were working properly, charging from 20 to 80 percent in 18 minutes via a 350-kW connection.

But check this out: On August 16, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, providing new federal tax credits for automakers who have run out of them, though the credits now come with price and income caps, as well as restrictions on where qualifying EVs are built.

We applaud the federal government for pushing incentives to the masses and working to increase the number of public chargers. The infrastructure law signed last year marks a decent first step, and the Transportation and Energy departments’ ongoing joint effort to boost the charging infrastructure will hopefully lead to improvements. But we also need those stations to be maintained and up to date, and we need more of them. Whether it’s in big cities, along transportation corridors, or in the countryside, chargers are necessary to help you get to your destination, but a big chunk of them don’t work the way they’re supposed to. This must change. We’ve seen an increasing number of chargers installed in parking lots and city centers, but if they don’t work, aren’t always online—or online as much as possible— and don’t charge without issue, they don’t do much good. Right now, states are not staffed to handle upkeep, and private companies seem to lack the incentive to do it, but if anyone expects all new cars to truly be fully electric by 2035 (as is the plan in California), we must find a solution that can support the growing EV fleet. Otherwise, even the fanciest tech advancements in the cars and batteries won’t mean nearly as much as they should. Q

Five minutes after plugging in our EV6, the 350-kW Electrify America charger quit working, which caused us to switch to a 150-kW charger and delay our road trip.

The charging infrastructure has come a long way, and ongoing investment will make it even better. But to make every road accessible, we still need more.