For the first time in four years, public EV charger performance in the U.S. has shown significant improvement, reaching an 84% success rate in the first quarter of 2025, according to a recent J.D. Power study. This marks a notable decrease in failure rates from 20% since 2021 to 16% this year, offering a boost to EV owners and enthusiasts who rely on these networks for daily charging needs, according to Automotive News.

Charger Performance Sees Industry-Wide Gains

The improvement stems from a focused effort by major charging networks to prioritize performance, maintenance, and repairs over the past two years. “Public chargers now function more consistently across charging networks and locations,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the electric vehicle practice at J.D. Power. He added, “When you look at what’s driving those failure events, it’s always been the charger was out of service or it was malfunctioning. It’s still the No. 1 reason for failure, but it’s gotten better.”

J.D. Power’s data highlights that 84% of public charging attempts succeeded in early 2025, a substantial improvement that reflects broader industry trends. Companies like EVgo have driven this progress, with charger utilization rates climbing to 24% in the first quarter—up from 9% two years ago. A third of EVgo’s chargers are now in use at least 30% of the time, showing increased demand and better infrastructure reliability.

Technology and Policy Fuel Better User Experience

Charging companies are leveraging technology to enhance user experience. ChargePoint, for example, launched an AI tool in 2024 that allows drivers to report station issues. Within the first 10 weeks, this tool helped resolve nearly half of the reported problems across thousands of stations, a ChargePoint spokesperson told Automotive News. Meanwhile, EVgo has upgraded, replaced, or decommissioned chargers at over 600 locations since 2022, ensuring more reliable access for drivers.

Policy changes also play a role. President Joe Biden’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program requires chargers to be available and functioning at least 97% of the time, pushing companies to improve uptime. Additionally, Electrify America introduced idle fees and policies in 2024 to reduce wait times, which led to a demand increase of over 50% on their network, a spokesperson confirmed.

What This Means for EV Owners

For EV owners, these improvements translate to more dependable charging sessions. At EVgo, drivers successfully initiated a session 95% of the time in the first quarter, up from 91% the previous year. Autocharge+ adoption, a feature allowing drivers to charge as soon as they plug in, rose to 24% of sessions from 19% a year ago. “The companies that are getting into this space are getting better,” said Loren McDonald, chief analyst at Paren. He noted, “A lot of the industry started to focus much more on improving and updating and replacing and fixing existing stations that had issues.”

However, challenges remain. A Drivz survey of 300 charger operators revealed that vehicle-to-charger compatibility issues, faulty hardware, and interoperability barriers are still common hurdles. About a third of these companies plan to enhance operations in 2025, signaling ongoing efforts to meet rising demand.

Looking Ahead: Balancing Demand and Reliability

As EV adoption grows, charger reliability becomes even more critical. Public charger performance has been a pain point for the industry, but these recent advancements show progress. “Public charger performance improved for almost every network in the industry,” Gruber stated, emphasizing that “this is something that we are seeing across the board in terms of improved reliability and increased satisfaction.”

For EV enthusiasts, the message is clear: charging networks are evolving to meet user needs, but the industry must continue to balance infrastructure expansion with consistent performance to support the growing number of electric vehicles on the road.