When to use an electric vehicle as convenient as a petrol car is an unanswered question – Photo: Hyundai
A new study published in the US by JD Power in mid-August reflects a worrying reality. Notably, in the context of more and more users switching to electric vehicles, satisfaction rates with public car charging services are unprecedentedly low in this country.
Although electric vehicle users can charge their cars at home, they don’t always have the same convenience. There will be times when they will charge public cars, and the user experience in this area is getting worse.
Published data shows that user satisfaction scores with Level 2 charging station systems in the US are set to drop 16 points to 617 in 2023. Charging speed is the biggest point of reduction, being minus 36 points compared to last year.
The fast charging technology also gets a deduction of 20 points, while the charging speed normally gets a deduction of up to 30 points.
In addition, 20% of people polled by a reputable US user survey company said they had had a case with station visits at no charge. This could be due to long queues or simply no electricity. Inadequate location of charging stations is another concern. Also, they do not have access to many utilities while waiting for charging.
The fact that Tesla opens the door for other brands of cars to charge in the Supercharger system should help ease some of the pressure on the electric vehicle infrastructure. However, this is only a “temporary” solution – Photo: Carscoops
According to Brent Gruber, JDPower’s executive director of electric vehicles, automakers need to address the issue. The inconvenience of using electric cars could make users completely rethink their next buying decision.
The number of electric vehicle charging stations in the US, although very high, still does not meet the needs of users because of the large area of the country. In addition, charging stations located in residential “hot spots” are easily overloaded by the rapid increase in the number of users.
Besides, allocation of charging stations is also another inadequacy. For example, charging stations around highways should be fast charging. Charging stations in malls can be a bit slow to charge. However, the layout of charging stations in the US is now almost random.
A while back, Ford CEO Jim Farley personally went on an electric car ride for an authentic user experience. However, the leader himself admitted that charging the battery in America is still quite difficult.
For electric vehicle owners in countries with underdeveloped infrastructure, as already in the US, they will have even more headaches.
(TagstoTranslate)electric vehicle charger
