The freest EV charging networks in the US now are the ones built by Tesla and Rivian, according to one new investigation from consumer reports.
The publication examined 1,230 owners on EV billing experiences between March 2024 and February 2024 and only 4% of respondents said they had problems with the Tesla turbocharger network. Only 5% said they had problems using Rivian adventure network chargers.
The owners had the worst experience with Shell’s recharge network, reporting a problem of 48% of the time. The EVGO and Blink chargers were also annoying, with owners having problems with 43% and 41% of the time, respectively. Other well -known networks were not very good, with the owners recording problems at Electrify America 35% of the time and the Charginpoint Chargers 24% of the time. Rivian and Tesla were the only networks in single -digit.
ECs made up more than 8% of vehicle sales in the US last year, According to Cox AutomotiveAnd while sales increase has cooled, the total volume is still increasing. People are increasingly embracing electric vehicles, but it is clear from consumer reports that many of the billing networks intended to support this adoption are delaying back. Representatives for Shell, Evgo, Blink, Electrify America and Chargepoint did not immediately respond to comments.
Consumer reports reported that the most common reported problems in all networks had to do with payments and the charging station itself – especially with screens.
“Calling broken screens, payment issues and slow billing power, community members are data that will keep billing networks and improve drivers’ experience with public debit,” said Consumer Reports Drew Toher Campaign Drew Drew.
Tesla has built the Supercharger network for over a decade now, so it is not surprising that it has forged many of the issues that still hit many of these other companies. And this is extremely news for non-Tesla EV owners or future buyers, as the company has opened the Supercharger network in essentially all other electric vehicles.
What is a bit surprising is that Rivian apparently fits Tesla when it comes to credibility, at least based on the experiences of these respondents. This means it’s in a good start the first 100 stations of. But it will be up to Rivian to maintain this quality as he tries to build the other 500 stations has planned for North America.