Sometimes, technology doesn’t fulfill its promise. But, other times, it isn’t the tech that let’s you down, it’s the people using it. So one electric vehicle charging company company is experimenting with cutting off people who linger, attempting to “fill ‘er up.
” Recently, I drove a new Chevrolet Blazer EV from New York City to Bristol, Pennsylvania. I figured the drive down to Bristol with my family would take about 90 minutes and, since I didn’t start with a full battery, the return trip would take 15 to 20 minutes more with a stop along the way to charge up the EV some. I was so very wrong.
It took us four hours to get home that night. We were sitting in line for electric vehicle chargers. Blame ill-mannered charger hogs who don’t respect EV etiquette.
It’s like waiting for your table in a restaurant while watching people casually chat over empty plates and half-empty wine glasses. What’s wrong? EV fast chargers – the big tall units that look like major appliances – aren’t generally designed to completely fill an EV’s batteries. They are designed to pour electricity into a battery quickly so drivers can make a short stop and get back on the road after, say, 20 minutes or so.
They’re different from the smaller and more common “slow” or “destination chargers,” in Tesla parlance, that are designed for drivers to park, plug in...
and leave for hours. Fast charging can be stressful for a car’s batteries, though. So, to protect batteries from damage, charging speeds slow way down once batteries get beyond 80% full.
In fact, it can take as long, or even longer, to go from 80% charged to completely full than to reach 80%. Meanwhile, lines of electric vehicles wait behind almost-full cars. A line of EVs wait to charge at Electrify America chargers in East Brunswick, New Jersey, on July 6.
I was waiting behind people with batteries that were 92%, 94% and even 97% full, as I could see on the charger screens. Still, they stayed there. I made my own situation worse by giving up on one location and going to another with more chargers, but there were even more EVs waiting there.
Given that a lack of public charging is turning many consumers off to EVs, according to multiple surveys , this is a major issue. Electrify America, one of America’s biggest charging companies, is experimenting with a solution to the problem of charger hogs who can make it slow and unpleasant to travel in an EV. At 10 of the busiest EV fast charging stations in California, Electrify America has enacted a strict limit.
Once a car’s batteries are 85% charged, charging will automatically stop and the driver will be told to unplug and leave or face additional 40-cent-per-minute “idle time” fees for taking the space. It’s similar to something Tesla vehicles do automatically. When a Tesla car, truck or SUV plugs into a particularly heavily-used Supercharger station, the vehicle itself may automatically limit charging to just 80% “to reduce congestion,” according to Tesla’s on-line Supercharger Support web page .
In that case, though, the user can still override the limit using the vehicle’s touchscreen. There will be no getting around Electrify America’s limit. A driver who wants to charge to 100% at one of these stations will need to go someplace else.
Charger access has been a sore point among EV owners for years (note the complaining rants on Reddit and LinkedIn). But it’s becoming a more critical issue because, even though the rate of EV sales growth is tapering off, the number of EVs on the road that need charging is still increasing. “I think what you’re seeing is demand for public fast charging is really skyrocketing,” said Sara Rafalson, executive vice president for policy at EV charging company EVgo , “and I would say we’ve been really at an inflection point in the last year, year and a half, with demand.
” Electrify America EV chargers in California. Why so many drivers hog so few chargers Given the sharply dropping speed curve of EV chargers it would make the most sense to unplug at 80% and just stop at another charger later to fill to 80% again. That would always take advantage of a fast charger’s highest speeds.
Electric cars are still pretty new to most owners, and their “refueling” habits are based on what they’ve been used to from driving gas cars, said Robert Barrosa, president of the EV charging company Electrify America. People go to a gas pump to “fill up,” and many will treat a charger the same way. Many new EV owners may not even be aware that there is always a drastic slow-down in charging speed past 80%.
But what if the nearest fast charger is, say, at least 15 or 20 minutes out of the way? The relative scarcity of chargers, and long distances between them , can make people want to stick around a while once they find one. “Once you’re at a charger, it’s like ‘Oh, yeah. I’m filling all the way, ’ ” said Barrosa.
Both Electrify America and EVgo said they are rapidly expanding their networks to, as EVgo’s Rafalson put it, “skate ahead of the puck,” trying to make sure there are enough chargers to meet future demand. An ample supply of chargers could help mitigate the sort of electricity hoarding behavior that’s common at chargers now. The problem of users taking up chargers may be exacerbated by Electrify America’s own free charging agreements with various automakers, including Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai.
When charging time costs nothing, there’s no financial incentive to unplug. Like diners ordering more endless shrimp at Red Lobster , some EV drivers take full advantage , to the growing the frustration of others waiting behind them. There can also be other legitimate reasons a driver may want to charge to 100% at a fast charger, said Barrosa.
For instance, they may be taking a long trip to someplace where they know there will be few chargers. Or they may be driving an EV with relatively little range, like a Fiat 500e or Mazda MX-30, so they need to cram in all they can. Cases like these are why Electrify America probably won’t institute an overall charging cap at charging stations near major highways, he said.
Charging companies like Electrify America have an immense amount of real-time data on charger usage, so a more nuanced approach than a simple limit at certain chargers would be possible. Some EV charging companies have experimented with plans that charge different amounts of money at different times to give drivers incentives to fill their batteries at less busy hours. For now, at least , Electrify America executives want to keep things simple, said Barrosa, so drivers know what to expect when they arrive at a charging station.
For the time being, let’s just hope that EV drivers who don’t really need to fill all the way up will learn to be more considerate. Here were some of the coolest EVs at the New York Auto Show. Tom's Guide got to check out a bunch of the new electric vehicles at the New York Auto Show 2024.
From crossover coupes like the Polestar 4, to the reimagine styling of the Volkswagen ID Buzz, the show proves that there's more variety in the space. Here are the coolest EVs. A team of engineers called the "Cannonball Sun" have set a new record for the fastest solar-powered journey across the United States.
American roads are dominated by gasoline-powered vehicles, but that is gradually changing. The government is placing increasingly strict requirements for vehicle emissions on car manufacturers, which has accelerated their output of electric vehicles (EVs). At the same time, U.
S. consumers are driving demand for EVs, buying more every year. However, interest and adoption rates are uneven across the country.
There are many barriers to buying EVs, including higher purchase prices, concerns about range and battery reliability. Given these competing forces, Motointegrator worked with the research experts at DataPulse to better understand what's driving — and hindering — the EV transition. Here is a look at the EV trends across the country and what they say about the country's transition.
The journey toward electric mobility is gaining momentum, but battery-powered vehicles are not going to eclipse combustion engines any time soon. Current data shows that EVs make up about 1% of all vehicles on American roads today, a figure projected to rise to 9% by 2040, according to government estimates. More than 283 million light-duty vehicles were registered in the country in 2022, but only 2.
4 million were EVs , according to the most recent government statistics. In order to increase the percentage of EVs in its fleet, the U.S.
has to put more of them on the roads while retiring their gas-powered counterparts. Currently, this is not happening at the same rate. The number of vehicles in operation is trending upward, as it generally has for decades, indicating that older vehicles are staying on the road longer.
Indeed, a 2023 report from S&P Global found that the average age of vehicles hit a record high of 12.5 years, suggesting that Americans are holding on to their gas-guzzlers. EV uptake is not uniform across the country.
A detailed look at the geographic distribution of light-duty vehicles shows California leading the nation in EV adoption, with 2.5% of its vehicles being electric — significantly higher than any other state, and in sharp contrast to states like North Dakota and Mississippi, where adoption rates are less than 0.1% California is ahead of the curve thanks to a combination of aggressive state policies, a high number of tech-savvy consumers and robust charging infrastructure.
The state is mandating that 35% of new 2026 cars, trucks and SUVs be zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), which include battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. By 2035, California will require every new car to be a ZEV. California's ambitious goals have made automakers wary because other states that are following California's legislation do not have as much consumer demand for EVs.
Currently, 12% of Americans live in California, but a whopping 37% of the country's EVs are registered there. As the chart below shows, Florida has the second-highest share of EVs, at a distant 7%. Americans love to drive — and drive and drive.
Therefore, a long distance road trip in an EV can trigger anxiety because their driving range typically spans only 150 to 300 miles. Numerous national surveys, including AAA's Annual EV Consumer Sentiment Survey released in late 2023, have found that lack of charging stations is among the top deterrents for car buyers, second only to the cost. Indeed, charging infrastructure is a critical component of the EV ecosystem.
There has been a significant expansion in charging stations from some 20,000 in 2017 to nearly 70,000 in 2023. The number of individual charging ports has increased from about 50,000 to 180,000 nationwide over the same period. However, charging stations are not evenly distributed.
While 25% of the nation's charging stations are in California, they are few and far between in states like Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. So-called "charging deserts" are potential barriers to EV adoption. On the other hand, seven states plus Washington, D.
C., boast at least one station for every 1,000 registered cars, which could potentially reassure auto buyers in those areas. From 2020 to 2023, EV sales in the U.
S. jumped from less than 300,000 to 1.2 million annually, with the market share climbing to 7.
6% in 2023. However, some analysts and automakers had predicted the EV market to perform better than it ultimately did that year. In the U.
S., there is more incentive to buy electric vehicles when gas prices are climbing, as they were during the pandemic and following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, prices at the pump have fallen recently.
That, coupled with high retail prices of EVs — the average price paid for a new EV in December 2023 was $50,789, according to Cox Automotive — are key reasons why EV sales dampened in 2023. Tesla remains a dominant player, with its Model Y alone accounting for 33% of all EVs sold in 2023 and holding 55% of the EV market, according to Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book. (Chevrolet ranked second at 5.
9% market share, and Ford ranked a close third, at 5.8%.) In three years, Tesla has become a significant player, competing with longtime industry stalwarts that do not exclusively sell EVs.
Though Tesla leads the EV market currently, the race is heating up and the competition from long-standing manufacturers and newcomers alike is creating a more robust and diverse supply of options for consumers. Competition will also accelerate the development of technology that will improve battery range, reliability and safety. Consumer Reports has found that EVs have 79% more problems than conventional cars and that their batteries are at risk of failing in hot summer temperatures.
On the safety front, EVs are less likely to catch fire than vehicles with combustion engines, according to data from Sweden. (The U.S.
government does not report such statistics). However, EV fires are more dangerous because they pose the risk of electric shock and are extremely volatile and difficult to control. The promise of a cleaner, more efficient future is on the horizon.
Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book predict that the EV share of the U.S. market in 2024 will reach 10%.
That is certainly progress, but the U.S. has a long journey ahead to fully transition from gas to electric.
That journey will be filled with both challenges and opportunities for policymakers, manufacturers and consumers. At the legislative level, state policies, like the ambitious emissions regulations in California, will shape EV adoption rates by limiting the availability of new gas-powered cars. Meanwhile, federal policies like tax credits can curb the sticker price of expensive EVs and incentivize car buyers to go electric — even if gas prices remain lower.
EV adoption is also likely to increase with improved battery technology and charging infrastructure, as both developments can alleviate range anxiety. As more car manufacturers enter the market, technological advancement will increase. At the same time, those manufacturers will price their EVs competitively to win over consumers, leading to more electric vehicles on the road and cleaner air.
This story originally appeared on Motointegrator , was produced in collaboration with DataPulse , and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. The-CNN-WireTM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros.
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