This article is brought to you by IONNA.

Recent headlines would have you believe that EVs are on their way out. But executives at IONNA, an EV charging network backed by eight of the world’s largest automakers, are quick to debunk this myth.

“I’ve been in the industry for going on 13 years now, and EV adoption keeps going up and to the right,” said Seth Cutler, chief executive officer of IONNA. “The market itself will always withstand. I think it's really a question of what the adoption rate will look like.”

Last year, 1.4 million EVs were sold in the United States—up year over year, noted Ricardo Stamatti, chief product and technology officer of IONNA. “Despite the headlines and fluctuation in policy, people are still buying EVs, for the simple reason that they enjoy driving them.”

IONNA noted a couple of reasons as to why the EV market will continue to grow in the United States:

• The technology and infrastructure for EVs has continuously improved, reducing range and charging anxiety. “The vehicles are getting better year after year, both in overall quality and in range and speed. Batteries are larger and a single charge lasts longer. And at the same time, charging infrastructure continues to grow and get better,” Cutler said.
• The EV buyer demographic is changing, Stamatti noted. EVs have become a more accessible option for many drivers—and many are realizing that an EV fits their lifestyle. “For example, there’s a secondhand market for EVs now. There are so many people looking for a value option, and all of a sudden there’s a discounted EV available for purchase.”
• With more accessible charging infrastructure, people can remove charging anxiety as a barrier to purchase. When they see EV chargers around their town and at their convenience stores, they’re more likely to make the switch from ICE to EV, Stamatti explained.
• EVs are a technology platform for transportation. With that, there are a lot of possibilities for an improved driving experience for consumers, which will continue to drive customer demand, Stamatti said. For example, “there’s probably no autonomous driving future without EVs.”

The EV driver is here to stay as a c-store customer, Cutler said. Retailers can learn from the EV charging missteps of the past. “IONNA is here to help c-stores cater to these drivers, through high-quality charging and a great customer experience,” said Cutler.

To learn more about how IONNA partners with c-stores to build EV Rechargeries, look for part two of this two-part series this Wednesday.