Full Charge: The Economics of Building a National EV Charging Network | The White House

 Full Charge: The Economics of Building a National EV Charging Network | The White House 

The U.S. consumer market for EVs is rapidly growing. In the third quarter of 2023, EV and hybrid sales amounted to 18 percent of U.S. light duty vehicle sales; over the year, Americans bought one million fully electric vehicles, a new record. President Biden is supporting this growing demand by setting ambitious goals for accelerating the EV transition through his Investing in America agenda. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, he has worked with Congress to lower the price of new and used EVs by thousands of dollars and to incentivize American EV and battery manufacturing, attracting more than $152 billion of investment into the sector since taking office. Market research indicates that overall consumer satisfaction with electric vehicles is very high. In fact, 80 percent of EV owners are likely to buy an EV again based on ease of charging at home, driving enjoyment, vehicle quality and reliability, and the low cost of ownership. Still, survey data reveal that lack of public charging availability is one of the main reasons causing people not to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase. Other related issues include concerns about how far EVs can drive on a charge, about whether chargers will be available and working, and about the amount of time it takes to charge. Economic research indicates that investing in an extensive EV charging network that supports a variety of EV models is a relatively cost-effective way to overcome the market failures limiting EV adoption. To this end, the President has invested $7.5 billion from his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law towards building a national network of EV chargers.