EVs don't need to charge as quickly as gas cars fill up, US consumers say

[ChasingCoral]

EVs don't need to charge as quickly as gas cars fill up, US consumers say

STEPHEN EDELSTEIN JANUARY 7, 2025 184 COMMENTS

• 77% of Americans indicated they'd wait up to 40 minutes for a charge to 80%
• Many current EVs meet that timeframe already
• More consumers prefer dedicated charging stations vs. gas stations with chargers

Long charging times and lack of available public charging stations have been cited as major roadblocks to EV adoption in countless studies and surveys, but a new survey of U.S. consumers conducted by Deloitte indicates that attitudes may be changing.
While it included about 31,000 responses from thirty different countries, the survey found that charge times may be what analysts called a "softening barrier" for U.S. consumers and EV adoption, with many appearing less interested in speeding up EV charging to match gasoline fill-ups. Of U.S. consumer surveyed, 77% said they were willing to wait up to 40 minutes to charge their car from zero to 80%—well within the DC fast-charging envelope of many current EVs.


Gravity EV charging center in New York City

While respondents said that fast-charging time was the most important part of the EV charging experience, a majority were able to wait 21-40 minutes for a charge. The location was also important, with 44% of respondents saying they preferred a dedicated EV charging station to a gas station with chargers, while only 15% preferred the opposite.

The study also underscored that many EV drivers don't require frequent fast charging. Most (79%) of U.S. respondents intending to buy an EV said they planned to charge at home. That's a figure close to what various studied have found for years—although 58% of the overall survey sample said they do not currently have access to a charger, which begs for more details. And 35% of U.S. consumers surveyed said they drive more than 60 miles from their home only once or twice per month, while a further 23% said they never go that far.


General Motors and ChargePoint EV fast charging

This paints a different picture than a Deloitte study published about a year ago, which concluded that EV charge times and cost could be holding shoppers back. Two years earlier, another Deloitte study found that two-thirds of Americans didn't want an EV, primarily due to range and cost concerns.

If this study's conclusions are accurate, though, EVs are set to exceed consumer expectations. The list of vehicles with especially short road-trip charge times is growing, and several companies, including Toyota, have teased that 10-minute charge times may be around the corner—potentially involving solid-state batteries.

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1145442_evs-charge-gas-cars-fill-up-us-consumers

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[shutterbug]

If nearly 80% of EV users intend to charge at home, and only 35% drive more than 120 miles round trip from home only two times a month, why is the infrastructure build out so important?

That 80% is of people who intend to buy an EV. Presumably, many will not buy an EV if they have no place to charge. If you rent or live in a condo, home charging is not an option.

The 35% is people who drive more than 120 miles round trip. More than 120 mile also includes people who drive 1,200 miles as well.

 

[RickMachE]

Clearly most respondents haven’t taken long, multi-day trips.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I feel like most people make decisions based on theoretical worse case scenarios. What was helpful for me while roadtripping in an EV was having a reliable charger with somewhere pleasant to have a meal at. With kids, it’s almost impossible to have a shorter stop than 35-40 minutes.

 

[dabois89]

The country as a whole needs to slow down, i usually bring a book or read articles on the internet and take the time to eat, decompress and use the bathroom.

 

[DeusEx]

I bet these folks will change their mind about slow charging/waiting if they're doing it in the cold. I'd rather get out as soon as I can.

 

[RickMachE]

I bet these folks will change their mind about slow charging/waiting if they're doing it in the cold. I'd rather get out as soon as I can.

Or the rain.

 

[DeusEx]

Or the rain.

I haven't experienced the rain yet while DCFC, but I can imagine how crappy it is to be cold and wet. Definitely not pleasant feelings.

 

[4sallypat]

Wait times at Tesla Superchargers are very pleasant now that we have access and I don't have that need to get 90% or higher when I used to charge at EA or EVGo.

Superchargers are everywhere so I just take a quick break, charge 10-20 minutes to 70 or 80%, take a bathroom break or shop nearby and drive off.

 

[music_cities]

I bet these folks will change their mind about slow charging/waiting if they're doing it in the cold. I'd rather get out as soon as I can.

It's not cold and doesn't rain inside the neighbouring A&W though.

 

[music_cities]

If you rent or live in a condo, home charging is not an option.

Not necessarily though — many condos can easily install a few networked L2s nowadays if approached by a unitholder. And some landlords might be willing to install them as an amenity that provides extra revenue, much like a laundry room in an apartment block. But, I agree in principle. In my opinion, the best emphasis in public policy right now would be incentives to have L2s installed in multiunit dwellings.

 

[music_cities]

Clearly most respondents haven’t taken long, multi-day trips.

Or maybe most respondents realize that they only take long, multi-day trips once or twice a year, and that usually they fly somewhere and rent a car on their trips.

 

[DeusEx]

It's not cold and doesn't rain inside the neighbouring A&W though.

What is A&W? Is that like a Wawas or Sheetz?

 

[Sikkun]

In practice, I actually agree that for majority of people they don’t need faster charging.

But in reality to overcome the physiological barriers without regulation…..EV can’t be viewed as a downgrade for people and therefor has to be faster.

 

[music_cities]

What is A&W? Is that like a Wawas or Sheetz?

It's a place with root beer, bathrooms, and tasty little sandwiches, adjacent to most DCFC charging stations around here.

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