600-mile road trip proves EV charging no longer sucks
TechCrunch reports on a 600-mile road trip with an electric vehicle, highlighting significant improvements in public charging infrastructure compared to 2023.
Many prospective EV buyers still worry about public charging, with a 2023 AAA survey showing over half of respondents cited it as a major concern. However, according to a recent TechCrunch article, the situation has improved dramatically.
The author completed a 600-mile road trip to Montreal in an Audi e-tron (range ~220 miles) after their Kia EV9 had a broken air conditioner. They used the A Better Route Planner app, now owned by Rivian, which suggested a Rivian charger in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The station had no queues, six working 300 kW chargers, and accepted a credit card, delivering over 140 kW – near the car's maximum. The only hiccup was at a Circuit Électrique station near Montreal, where the card reader failed, requiring the app to be downloaded and loaded with $20 CAD.
In contrast, a similar 350-mile trip to Maine in 2023 was problematic. The first charger broke, requiring a stall change, and customer service calls were needed to start charging. The author made three calls over seven hours of driving.
Data confirms the improvement. In July 2023, the U.S. had about 32,000 DC fast chargers, many Tesla-only. Today, that number has more than doubled, and most of Tesla's network is open to all. Charging reliability on Paren's index has risen from 85 to the mid-90s. Gaps remain, but the overall experience is much better.
