The U.S. added fewer public fast-charging stations last quarter, but growth is still robust.
- The U.S. added thousands of new public fast-charging ports in the second quarter, but the rate of growth slowed.
- The all-time market share of Tesla Superchargers fell below 50% for the very first time.
- Utilization rates remained steady, as drivers continue to absorb newly added capacity.
The buildout of America's public fast-charging stations slowed in the second quarter as charging networks shifted their focus toward profitability and improving reliability for EV drivers, charging data platform Paren said on Tuesday.
Charging companies added 4,382 new ports across 806 new stations in Q2, down from the 4,865 ports and 891 stations added during the same period last year. That's a 10% year-over-year decline. The numbers also fall well short of the fourth quarter's record, when operators added 5,966 new ports and 937 new stations.
Loren McDonald, chief analyst at charging data analytics firm Chargeonomics, attributed the slowdown to operators prioritizing profits and the overall quality of the charging experience over sheer expansion.
“A two-quarter year-over-year decline is not definitive proof of a slowdown,” McDonald said in the Paren report. “Combined with recent CPO layoffs and pullbacks, it reinforces the industry's new mantra: operations, customer experience, and profitability,” he added.
It's no secret that charging companies are now adding fewer stations with more high-powered ports apiece, putting more emphasis on the broader experience around charging itself. Many new stations now come with amenities like restrooms, cafes, and WiFi, and some networks, like Ionna, even offer air-conditioned lounges at select locations where drivers can wait comfortably while their EV tops up.
Quarter-over-quarter growth, though, remained strong. Just 3,521 new ports went in during the first quarter. That means Q2 installs rose 24% quarter-over-quarter.
Tesla continued to lead the buildout of public fast-charging infrastructure, but its all-time market share dropped below 50% for the first time as rival networks picked up the pace. The company accounted for just 27% of new deployments in Q2, with 1,185 new ports. Walmart and ChargePoint followed with 368 and 333 new ports, respectively, while Red E and Electrify America rounded out the top five with 315 and 202.
The average utilization rates, which measure how much of the time chargers are actually in use, held steady at 15.8%. That suggests the new capacity coming online is being absorbed by drivers at roughly the same rate stations are being built. In other words, supply is keeping pace with demand.
Growth in the second quarter was also heavily regional, with 40% of new ports landing in just five states. California led by a wide margin with 120 new stations, followed by Texas, Florida, Illinois, and New York. That distribution tracks closely with America's uneven EV adoption, which skews toward coastal metros first, followed by the industrial Midwest, the Southeast, and Texas.
That gap could widen if the trend holds, with new stations continuing to cluster in high-demand areas while so-called charging deserts fall further behind. North Dakota, for instance, added zero new public fast-charging ports in Q2. Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota each added just one new station.
Even as EV sales in the U.S. have swung sharply in response to shifting policy, the charging industry has largely shrugged off the broader cooldown and kept building at a strong clip, betting that demand will rebound in the years ahead.
If second-quarter sales numbers are any indication, that bet is starting to look like a smart one. Second-quarter EV sales grew at their fastest pace since the federal tax credit expired, with rising gas prices tied to the war in Iran giving battery-powered models a fresh boost.
Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Buying A Ford EV Still Comes With A Free Home Charger
This Tiny Electric Kia Camper Somehow Sleeps Four
This New CATL Battery For Delivery Vans Can Recharge In 7 Minutes
Rivian's Electric Van Outsold Its Rivals Combined—By 70%
Voltpost’s Lamppost EV Chargers Are Coming To A Parking Spot Near You
Subaru’s Best-Selling EV Faced The 70 MPH Highway Range Test. Here’s How It Performed
The Rivian R2 Can Charge From 10-80% Even Quicker Than Rivian Claims. If You Know This Trick.
Facts Only
* The U.S. added fewer public fast-charging stations in the second quarter.
* Charging companies added 4,382 new ports across 806 new stations in Q2.
* This represents a 10% year-over-year decline compared to the previous year.
* The fourth quarter saw operators add 5,966 new ports and 937 new stations.
* Tesla Supercharger market share fell below 50% for the first time.
* Tesla accounted for 27% of new deployments in Q2 with 1,185 new ports.
* Walmart added 368 new ports.
* ChargePoint added 333 new ports.
* Red E and Electrify America added 315 and 202 new ports, respectively.
* Average utilization rates remained steady at 15.8%.
* Quarter-over-quarter growth in new ports was strong, with Q2 installs rising 24% over Q1.
* Forty percent of new ports in the second quarter landed in five states.
Executive Summary
The addition of public fast-charging stations in the U.S. slowed during the second quarter, despite overall growth remaining robust. Charging companies focused on prioritizing profitability and enhancing customer experience rather than rapid expansion. Specifically, charging companies added 4,382 new ports across 806 new stations in Q2, representing a 10% year-over-year decline compared to the previous year. This slowdown contrasts with the fourth quarter, which saw higher additions of 5,966 ports and 937 stations.
The shift reflects an industry focus on operational quality and driver experience, evidenced by networks adding more high-powered ports per station and incorporating amenities like restrooms and lounges. While Q2 growth moderated, quarter-over-quarter expansion remained strong, with a 24% increase in new ports between the first and second quarters. Tesla maintained its lead in infrastructure buildout, but its market share dropped below 50% as rival networks expanded. Average utilization rates held steady at 15.8%, suggesting that the newly added capacity is being absorbed by drivers at the same rate it is being deployed.
Regional growth was highly uneven, with most new stations concentrating in just five states, primarily California, followed by Texas, Florida, Illinois, and New York. This distribution mirrors existing patterns of EV adoption across different geographic areas.
Full Take
The narrative suggests a structural pivot within the charging infrastructure industry, moving away from pure volume expansion toward quality and sustainability. The slowdown in station buildout, coupled with a focus on profitability and reliability, implies that the initial phase of rapid public rollout may be concluding, and the subsequent phase requires optimizing existing assets rather than simply increasing physical footprint. The fact that utilization rates remain stable despite slower growth suggests that capacity is being deployed effectively to meet current demand, challenging the assumption that lower deployment volume necessarily equals diminished market penetration or unmet need.
The geographic clustering of new installations in high-demand metropolitan areas reinforces an existing pattern of unequal infrastructure distribution. This dynamic risks exacerbating disparities between densely populated, high-adoption regions and areas that are lagging, potentially creating self-fulfilling prophecy "charging deserts" outside of the immediate growth corridors. The industry’s shift in focus reflects a maturation where the attention has moved from infrastructure *quantity* to infrastructure *utility*. The implication is that future growth will be driven less by the mere addition of stations and more by the integration of superior user experience, energy management solutions, and network reliability.
What structural assumptions about consumer demand are being implicitly addressed? If operators prioritize profitability and driver experience, does this inherently constrain the overall rate of infrastructure deployment necessary to keep pace with EV adoption rates, or is it a necessary recalibration toward scalable, sustainable expansion? How will regional disparity influence long-term policy goals aimed at equitable EV access across the nation?