As electric vehicle (EV) ownership grows across the United States
A new 2025 EV Charging Reliability Report by ChargerHelp! reveals that 64 per cent of Americans now live within two miles of an EV charging station, a significant milestone for the country’s green mobility goals.
However, the report uncovered a deeper issue: nearly one in three EV charging attempts fails.
Despite reported uptime rates of 98.7 per cent to 99 per cent, only 71 per cent of charging attempts succeed, suggesting that availability does not mean usability.
The real metric: First-time charge success rate
According to the report, current “uptime” statistics are misleading.
While uptime measures whether a charger is online, it doesn’t reflect whether drivers can successfully charge their cars.
Instead, ChargerHelp! recommends focusing on a new metric — the First-Time Charge Success Rate (FTCSR) — which tracks how often a driver can plug in and charge on the first attempt.
“Uptime tells us if a charger is available, but it doesn’t tell us if a driver can actually plug in and get a charge,” said ChargerHelp!
It added, “First-time charge success captures the real driver experience. If we focus on this, we can close the gap between availability and trust.”
Why charging often fails
The main reason for failed charging attempts lies in software complexity.
EV charging involves multiple systems — the car, the charger, payment software, and network management — all communicating at once.
When any of these systems send a software or firmware update, compatibility issues can be seen.
Sometimes, the car’s battery management system doesn’t understand what the charging station is asking for.
This fragmentation means that even if a charging station shows as “available,” the charging process may fail to start.
Tesla’s advantage and industry fragmentation
Unlike Tesla, which uses a vertically-integrated system combining its own vehicles, chargers, and software, most of the US
Different companies manage hardware, software, payment systems, and connectors.
This lack of standardisation creates interoperability problems — a major reason drivers face unreliable charging experiences.
Ageing infrastructure adds to the problem
The ChargerHelp! report also highlights declining reliability as chargers age.
New charging stations typically show an 85 per cent success rate in their first year, but that figure drops to around 70 per cent after three years.
Older chargers often can’t be upgraded to support newer EV models or protocols, forcing site owners to replace entire units to stay compatible.
Limited oversight of EV chargers leaves gaps
Unlike gas pumps that undergo strict, regular inspections, EV chargers face limited regulatory oversight.
State departments mainly verify that consumers are charged fairly for electricity, but they don’t assess whether the stations actually work.
Private fleet chargers are largely exempt from any monitoring at all.
“Even if the station isn’t working, it might still pass inspection,” said ChargerHelp!
Fixing the reliability gap
To improve driver experience and accelerate EV adoption, the report recommends three key steps:
Adopt FTCSR as the main performance metric for public charging stations
Introduce preventive maintenance programmes to keep equipment running smoothly, instead of relying on temporary fixes
Standardise software protocols and encourage collaboration among hardware and software makers to improve compatibility
E-Vroooom’s views
A solveable challenge for America
Despite current challenges, experts remain confident that reliability issues can be solved as the industry matures.
“This is part of every major technology shift,” said the agency.
It added, “Switching from horses to gasoline cars wasn’t easy either — but we figured it out. The same will happen with EVs.”
As the US races towards an all-electric future, fixing charger reliability may prove just as important as building more charging stations — ensuring that EV drivers can depend on every plug, every time.
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