EV Adoption Delayed by Reliability Issues

As the global shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) continues, major automakers like Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz are scaling back or delaying their ambitious EV plans. For instance, in 2021, Mercedes-Benz aimed to have half of its sales be EVs by 2025. Now, the company has pushed that target to 2030, and even then, only "where market conditions allow."

While demand for EVs is still growing, it's slower than expected. A recent survey showed that many Americans find EVs more expensive, largely due to the high cost of batteries. Additionally, some view EVs as less reliable, with potential concerns over drive motors, charging, and battery performance. 

Photo credit: Taos News 

The concerns are well-founded- public EV chargers, especially non-Tesla ones, are unreliable, as only 72.5% of the public chargers in the Bay Area are functional. These charger failures can be attributed to vandalism and outdated equipment. Besides the need for adequate and functioning public outlets, the grid capacity, more specifically, the distribution capacity, is also in need of an update to supply the EV-grid integration; by 2045, a total of 25GW grid capacity update is needed in California, the EV adoption pioneer. The integration of EVs will change the scale of peak electricity demand-  potentially overloading local distribution networks, including the conductors and transformers that deliver power to consumers.

In terms of electricity needed- in the U.S., between now and 2050, an annual increase of 1% in electricity production is required to supply EVs on the road. Though it may seem daunting- it is less than the 3.2% average annual growth rate the country experienced in the last 70 years, which means the U.S. electrical grid will likely be able to handle the increase in terms of generation capacity. 

This story is first covered by Tim Stevens.