evee Central

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

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, 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 most current EVs.

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.