Surge in public charging infrastructure defies EV slowdown
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
America's EV charging infrastructure got a lot better in 2025, with more fast-chargers, improved reliability and increased standardization.
Why it matters: The record surge in public charging came despite a slowdown in EV adoption as federal tax credits dried up.
Driving the news: Public charging improved in multiple ways last year, according to Paren's new "US EV Fast Charging" report on the state of the industry.
- The number of high-speed chargers increased 30%, but so did network usage — demonstrating there's ample demand for public charging.
- Charging speeds increased, with more stations offering power levels as high as 400 kW.
- Reliability improved and pricing stabilized, as maturing networks updated their equipment and figured out their business models.
- And more stations installed Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors, too, which means fewer customers will need adapters to charge in the future.
By the numbers: Networks added more than 18,000 new DC fast‑charging ports in 2025. The U.S. now has just over 70,000 public fast-chargers, according to Paren's data.
- The vast majority of new chargers were privately funded. Only about 500 were built with taxpayer funds under a program that began under the Biden administration.
- Tesla's Supercharger network grew the fastest, with nearly 6,800 ports added.
- Tesla now has close to 37,000 charging ports, accounting for about 52% of all fast-chargers nationwide.
New charging stations have more plugs, meaning fewer lines and more consistent utilization rates.
- Tesla, for example, deployed 353 stations with 10 or more ports in 2025.
- Stunning stat: The largest, in Lost Hills, California, has 164 stalls and is powered by solar energy.
Zoom in: One major player, EVgo, added about 1,100 new ports in 2025 between its own charging network and the chargers it operates for Pilot Flying J travel centers and truck stops.
Between the lines: Uber and Lyft drivers increasingly need high-speed chargers in convenient locations, which has helped power that growth, EVgo CEO Badar Khan tells Axios.
- A few years ago, about 10% of EVGo's network energy went to rideshare vehicles. Today, it's 25%, he says.
- "Charging your vehicle in 20 minutes or even 10 minutes, rather than 40 minutes, is a totally different experience," he says.
What we're watching: The big question now is whether the combination of better infrastructure and more affordable EVs will spur a resurgence in EV sales, absent the old incentives.
