EV Fast-Charging Satisfaction Is at an All-Time High, Study Claims

What Car Shoppers Should Know

• A recent JD power study found that electric-vehicle owners are really satisfied with how DC fast chargers have been performing.
• This satisfaction coincides with charger failure rates being low.
• Automaker-backed charging networks such as Rivian and Ionna received the highest scores.

 EV charging in the U.S. looks to be taking off despite a pullback on electrification in the auto industry. The country recently surpassed over a quarter million charging ports, and now, it looks as if those chargers are not only reliable, but customer satisfaction with how the chargers have been performing is higher than it’s ever been, according to a recent study by JD Power.

Related: The U.S. Surpassed 250,000 EV Charging Ports. Is It Enough?

Customer Satisfaction With DC Fast Charging

Now in its sixth year, JD Power’s U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study tracks customer satisfaction with the public-charging experience. The scoring is based on 10 factors, including ease, speed and availability of charging, cost and ease of payment, how easy it is to find the chargers and how safe they feel while juicing up. This year’s study found that customers’ satisfaction with DC fast charging is high and continues to improve. JD Power says on a 1,000-point scale, “satisfaction with DC fast chargers has risen 12 points to 666.” That 12-point jump is versus 2025, when the score had dipped to 654; in 2024, the score was 664.

DC Fast Chargers With the Highest Customer Satisfaction

1. Ionna
2. Mercedes-Benz Charging Network
3. Rivian Adventure Network
4. Tesla Supercharger
5. Red E
6. Electrify America
7. EVgo
8. ChargePoint

What’s Driving the Increased Satisfaction?

JD power says the biggest improvements came from charger availability, a feeling of safety while charging and charging cost. Slow charging performance is still a problem for both fast and Level 2 chargers, but it has gotten better recently. The only continuing problem seems to be with Level 2 chargers, which JD Power says saw a 12-point decline in customer satisfaction versus 2025. The main problems with Level 2 chargers come from issues with charging and payments. Charging availability has improved in the last few years, but even with the country surpassing 250,000 chargers, it still may not be enough.

Automaker-Backed Charging Networks Are Setting the Standard

JD Power says the biggest customer satisfaction gains came from three automaker-backed charging networks. Ionna took the top spot. Ionna is a cooperative effort between BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai-Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Toyota.

Ionna was followed by the Mercedes-Benz Charging Network, while the Rivian Adventure Network took third place. These three charging networks stood out from others thanks to things that JD Power says matter to EV owners, like ease of charging, charging speed and overall availability.

“The newest generation of OEM-backed charging networks is showing what it looks like when public charging is designed around the driver,” said Brent Gruber, JD Power’s executive director of EV solutions.

Reliability And Location Matters

Other factors in customer charging satisfaction were charger reliability and charger location. JD Power says charger reliability has improved, with automaker-backed networks seeing the biggest gains while improvements have been made in other networks. Charger failure rate has fallen to 12%, down from 14% a year ago. Customers are also appreciating chargers in convenient locations. Chargers located at hotels got the highest scores, followed by gas station/convenience store locations and restaurants. The lowest scores went to chargers located at dealerships and ones that stand alone in places like parking lots and parking garages.

Read More on Cars.com:

• Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy
• How Much Do Electric Car Charging Stations Cost?
• BMW, Mini EV Owners Now Get 20% Off Charging at Growing Charging Network
• Electric Cars With the Longest Range
• How to Find EV Charging Stations

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