San Diego, California — After billions of dollars of electric vehicle infrastructure investment, plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV) early adopters continue to have strong concerns about charging availability, according to a study by ON World.
“Charging infrastructure is an enormous investment opportunity,” says Mareca Hatler, ON World’s research director. “The millions of PEVs in use over the next few years will require smart charging solutions that provide network management, dynamic billing, energy savings and vehicle-to-grid Integration.”
Although 80 percent of charging is done at home, pubic charging availability is the number one concern. ON World’s 2017 survey with 2,000 U.S. EV early adopters found that over half are concerned about the availability of public charging stations. Of those interested in EVs, three quarters would prefer a vehicle that supports a minimum of 300 miles per charge. More than two-thirds of the respondents aged 18-34 are interested in PEVs with 4 in 5 of these preferring 300+ miles per charge.
California has over 30 percent of the U.S. PEV drivers and an even higher percentage of public chargers. 57 percent are concerned about public charging availability and 54 percent are concerned about the time it takes to charge up their vehicle.
California’s three major investor-owned utilities are seeking approval to install 10,000s of public electric charging stations worth $1 billion over the next five years. Telsa will be spending billions in new charging infrastructure to support its upcoming Model 3 mass market EV.
ON World’s evaluation of 2,200 recently awarded patents found that PEV charging is a key research and development area. The companies with the highest charging IP market impact include Toyota, Bosch, Ford, Nissan and Hitachi.
In 2022, there will be 1.2 million Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) connectors installed in North America. Last year, installations in the 14 commercial EV charging market segments that ON World analyzed increased 65 percent. Over the next five years, the fastest growing markets will be the workplace, fleets, government and hospitality.