Although EV adoption – and thus, the number of EV charging customers – has reached record numbers, there remain some critical challenges the EV industry must conquer to dominate the transportation space. If you own or manage an EV charging company, knowing about these challenges can help you create a strategy to overcome them.
Here are some of the most critical challenges facing the EV industry today.
1. Limited Grid Capacity Hinders EV Charging Network Growth
Changing from gas-powered vehicles to electric ones means that millions of people will rely on the electric grid in new ways, including EV charging. Grid capacity, therefore, must increase to avoid outages.
As a 2025 Driivz white paper points out, the most significant challenge for EV charging stations – and the networks they participate in – is the failure of electrical grids to keep up with the increased demand that EV charging brings. As the survey that formed the basis for the white paper found, more than 90% of the network operators Driivz surveyed believed that an insufficient energy supply would hinder their growth over the next year.
According to a late 2024 US Department of Transportation report, charging electric vehicles will likely increase the United States’ total electricity demand from 0.2% to 23% by 2050. However, if the nation’s utilities “shift to renewable sources,” the country could meet that demand.
Until that shift happens, however, limited grid capacity in many areas across the US could have a trickle-down effect, causing drivers to opt for other types of vehicles over EVs because they fear a lack of charging facilities. If the number of charging customers decreases, so will stations’ profits.
Instead, EV charging networks and standalone EV charging stations can fortify their infrastructure with battery storage. Storing energy when it’s cheap and plentiful ensures that stations can keep the electricity flowing even during outages.
Studies also show that smart charging systems can decrease the burden on the grid by as much as 96% during peak demand hours. Incorporating such systems into charging facilities can ease charging station operators’ worries about grid insufficiency.
Even better, charging stations can supplement the grid by integrating renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and hydropower, into their facilities. Having backup power sources lessens the load on the grid, even as utilities struggle to keep up with the increased demand EV charging places on them.
Utilities, too, can step up to the challenges to meet the demand. They, too, can use distributed energy resources (DERs), such as battery storage, renewable power sources, and even V2G-equipped EVs to make up the deficit.
Even as they add these backup sources, utilities can expand their infrastructure to meet the increased demand for energy. Upgrading substations and transformers, modernizing management software, and installing more efficient poles and wiring can also provide a sustainable solution to this crisis.
2. Regulatory Roadblocks Stymie Charging Station Construction Permits
Although technological improvements have made EV charging station installations “fast and easy,” gaining approval from permitting authorities is anything but, as Inside EVs’ Suvrat Kothari discovered. In fact, as Kothari notes, getting approval for new installations can take over a year.
Those regulatory roadblocks have resulted in a critical lack of charging infrastructure, especially in larger, more populous areas. And, you guessed it, the bigger the players, the more complex the regulations.
Since the EV charging industry is still in its infancy, it lacks the political clout that gas station conglomerates have. Additionally, larger cities usually have more complex codes and more palms to grease.
But, as Kothari rightly points out, it’s precisely those congested cities’ residents who need more EV charging stations the most. Across the nation, the ratio of EVs to the number of available chargers has increased to alarming numbers.
In 2016, there were an estimated seven electric vehicles for every one public charger. However, in mid-2024, there were 20 EVs per public charger.
Although the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program might have begun with the best intentions, there were only eight working stations out of the program’s 500,000 planned facilities open as of June 2024. As Kothari put it, “a complex web of local regulations” stymied construction, as NEVI approval depended upon stations obtaining construction permits.
State and local governments would be wise to streamline permitting for the growing EV industry, Kothari advises. After all, they’ll be the first to benefit from the tax dollars resulting from charging sales.
3. EVs’ High Purchase Cost Still Hinders EV Adoption
The oft-misquoted phrase from the ’80s film Field of Dreams still haunts the EV charging industry. If you build an EV charging station, they (your prospective customers) won’t come unless they can afford the cars you want to charge.
EVs are more expensive to build than gasoline- or diesel-powered models, primarily due to the cost of batteries. EV batteries must hold a massive charge to provide the minimum range required by most drivers, necessitating the use of expensive raw materials to manufacture them.
Although EVs may be less expensive in the long run than their counterparts with internal combustion engines, they remain more costly at the outset.
According to Car and Driver, the lowest-priced EV on the market in 2025 is the Nissan Leaf, which retails for $29,635 but has a range of only 149–212 miles. Unfortunately, the gas-fueled Nissan Versa sports a sticker price of only $18,385, with a combined fuel economy of 30–35 MPG.
That’s more than a $10,000 difference. Until solid-state batteries and other emerging battery technologies with lower manufacturing costs go mainstream, EV sales will likely endure a slow rise.
Fortunately, there are signs that EV carmakers are listening. Tesla’s Elon Musk, who has an interest in both EV manufacturing and charging, recently asked prospective and current EV owners to name “any difficulties [they] may have had in trying to buy a Tesla.”
Not surprisingly, a massive number of the replies cited the cost of an EV purchase as the reason for choosing an ICE-powered car over a Tesla. One respondent recommended that carmakers offer customers a “50% grant program.” Not a bad idea, especially if EV charging companies could partner with EV carmakers to ease the financial burden, at least until battery costs become more affordable.
4. Installing EV Charging Stations Can Prove Costly
Public EV charging hardware can be expensive to install, with components ranging in cost from $2,200 per port for Level 2 chargers to as high as $351,429 per port for high-powered DC fast chargers. That doesn’t include installation, permitting costs, or connecting with utilities. Expect to double that cost per port for installation.
However, you can find ways to recoup those costs and pay off any loans you need to take out to complete your installation. Here are some examples of businesses that have achieved success by following these strategies.
Power companies and other businesses (parking lots, garages, restaurants, hotels, shopping centers, and multi-family housing complexes) often pay for charging station construction to attract EV users. The revenue they can earn by increasing their customer base can more than offset the costs of installation.
Automakers, too, invest in charging to build interest in their EV lines. For example, Tesla’s supercharger network and Volkswagen’s Electrify America program are among the nation’s largest commercial networks, with each company spending about $2 billion on its network. As more people consider buying an EV, these brands will be top of mind, providing customers with the knowledge that they can always find a spot to charge at those brands’ dealerships.
Standalone EV charging stations not affiliated with other businesses can also supplement their income by providing customers with paid amenities, such as a restaurant or fast-food eatery, a travel store, showers, or other options. Not only will this strategy help foot the bill for their chargers, but it will also attract EV drivers, provided the station posts adequate signage directing customers to the facility.
5. Charging Reliability Still Proves an Issue for EV Drivers
As a Harvard Business School study revealed, only 78% of the nation’s public EV chargers are reliable, providing a less-than-ideal customer experience. That “Wild West” experience is about to change, as the Driivz white paper cited earlier reveals.
Thirty-three percent of the charging station operators the Driivz researchers interviewed planned to make optimizing their operations their top priority. With that improved operational efficiency, customers can pull up to the station with confidence that they’ll obtain enough power to speed them on their way.
As EV owners spread the word to their friends and colleagues, more people will also gain the confidence to give EV ownership a try. That word-of-mouth advertising – the most potent form of marketing known to humankind – will likely increase charging stations’ customer base.
6. Myths Still Misinform Prospective EV Drivers
EV charging businesses depend on one key factor to thrive: a growing number of customers. However, some common myths about EV charging continue to misinform prospective EV owners.
As an Autoweek post put it, this misinformation boils down to the “usual suspects.” These myths include high EV purchase prices and battery repair costs, range anxiety over long distances, concerns about fire hazards, and a lack of “convenient” charging stations.
At least part of the fault lies within ourselves – the EV industry – for allowing those EV myths to persist in the public mind. The truth?
Combat Misinformation with Facts
To overcome these myths in prospective buyers’ minds, we in the EV charging and auto manufacturing industries must combat misinformation whenever and wherever possible. Get the message out both online and in person – especially among people whose demographics indicate they’re most likely to consider an EV purchase. Then expand outward into new, unexplored market segments.
Build Charging Stations in Underserved Areas
Secondly, we need to invest in more charging stations in “charging deserts” – areas that lack sufficient EV charging facilities – to ensure that customers have a place to charge their cars no matter where they live or drive to. Additionally, we need to ensure that our facilities are as well-maintained and well-appointed as those of their gas station counterparts.
The good news? A 2025 JD Power survey reveals that 24% of car buyers are “very likely” to consider an EV as their next car. Thirty-five percent of those people surveyed were “somewhat likely” to consider one.
It looks like some of our myth-busting has made a dent in the car-buying public.
However, those numbers still indicate that car buyers likely to purchase an EV are still in the minority. Until the EV industry can pull ahead of the ICE space, we still have a way to go before we can breathe a collective sigh.
Discover How to Beat Industry Challenges at the EV Charging Summit & Expo
Here’s a way to turn these challenges into mere speed bumps. Learn even more about all the tricks of the trade that can set your EV charging business – and the industry as a whole – on a path to success. At the EV Charging Summit & Expo, you’ll meet some of the finest minds in the EV charging industry.
These experts will share their knowledge, provide you with tips, and inspire you to make your EV charging company the provider of choice in your area. Don’t miss your chance to shine. Register for your spot at the Summit today!
