ALEXANDRIA, Va.—According to President Biden’s electric car plan, by 2030 half of all new cars sold in the United States will be electric. But in order for that plan to become a reality, the U.S. will need to build a lot more charging stations for those EVs.
According to the New York Times, the U.S. has about 110,000 charging stations now, but energy and auto experts say the country needs at least five to 10 times that amount to make the president’s plan work, while the EU has nearly 200,000 charging stations, and China has over 800,000.
“EV charging infrastructure is the single biggest barrier to EV adoption,” said Asad Hussain, a senior analyst at PitchBook, a research firm.
Millions of dollars are being invested into building chargers; however, EV sales aren’t happening quickly enough to make it profitable for charging companies, who may not break even for years, according to the article. Experts say building the necessary number of chargers the U.S. would need by 2030 would cost tens of billions of dollars.
Companies are taking the charging investment plunge despite bumps in the road. Toyota announced that it plans to spend 1.5 trillion yen ($13.7 billion) on the supply and development of batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles by 2030. The company plans to release 15 EVs globally by 2025. Hyundai announced it plans to offer hydrogen fuel cell versions for all its commercial vehicles by 2028, and then reduce the price of the fuel cell vehicles to be equivalent to those of EVs by 2030.
Another roadblock in the driver transition to EVs is the availability of fast chargers, which charge an electric battery in 20 to 40 minutes, but they cost tens of thousands of dollars. These types of chargers are needed so EV drivers will be assured they won’t be caught with a dead battery and not near a charging station. NACS Magazine recently covered the stumbling blocks in the push for the fast chargers EV drivers want in its September 2021 issue.
Register to attend the 2021 NACS Show October 5-8, at McCormick Place in Chicago and take advantage of the education sessions on electric vehicles and fuels, including these sessions developed by retailers for retailers: