With nearly two-thirds of Americans now living within two miles of an EV charging station, the conversation is shifting from availability to reliability. ChargerHelp’s newly released 2025 EV Charging Reliability Report dives into this critical issue, analyzing over 100,000 charging sessions across 2,400 chargers with input from partners including Plug In America and Paren.
The key takeaway? Uptime doesn’t tell the whole story. While charger uptime is often reported at near-perfect levels (98.7%–99.9%), actual driver success paints a different picture. Nearly one in three charging attempts still fail.
First-Time Charge Success: A Better Metric
The study highlights the First-Time Charge Success Rate (FTCSR) as a far more accurate reflection of the driver experience. FTCSR measures whether a driver can plug in and begin charging on the first attempt—without resets, retries, or error codes.
- Reported uptime: 98.7–99.9%
- Actual success rate: Just 71%
- At new stations: 85% success
- By year three: 69.9% success
In other words, even chargers reporting 100% uptime may fail drivers when it matters most.
The Reliability Challenge
The report outlines several challenges and opportunities for the industry:
- Aging infrastructure matters. Reliability drops sharply after the first few years, revealing gaps that uptime data alone can’t capture.
- Short-term fixes fall short. Hardware swaps and site refreshes temporarily boost performance but don’t resolve deeper issues like interoperability or firmware support.
- Future-proofing is critical. Many sites weren’t designed with long-term standards, compatibility, or preventative maintenance in mind—leaving them vulnerable as technology and vehicle needs evolve.
Building Toward Trust
Industry leaders agree: solving these gaps is essential to accelerate EV adoption.
- “Uptime tells us if a charger is available, but it doesn’t tell us if a driver can actually plug in and get a charge on the first attempt,” said Kameale Terry, CEO of ChargerHelp.
- “Quick fixes alone won’t get us there,” added Bill Ferro, CTO of Paren. “The path forward is long-term resiliency—consistent standards, preventative maintenance, and infrastructure that’s truly built for the future.”
Traits of the Best Charging Sites
The study also spotlights what works. Top-rated charging locations share key features:
- High-powered chargers with multiple ports
- Long cables that fit diverse vehicle designs
- Streamlined, reliable payment systems
- Covered parking and nearby amenities
The Bottom Line
As EV adoption accelerates, the success of charging infrastructure will depend not only on how fast it expands, but on how reliably it works. The 2025 report makes it clear: to win driver trust, the industry must move beyond uptime and embrace metrics—and practices—that reflect the true user experience.
This is the second consecutive year that ChargerHelp! has published its reliability report. To view the full 2025 report, click here.
Straight news reports regarding electric vehicles and the automotive industry, without bias or spin.