Charging Demand Is Growing, But Charging Infrastructure Isn't Keeping Up

ChargePoint says it added 190,000 EV chargers last year. That still isn't keeping up with demand from drivers.

ChargePoint DC fast charger with Tesla's NACS plug

Kevin Williams

By: Kevin Williams

Feb 14, at 7:00am ET

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ChargePoint says that demand for its charging services grew by 34% in 2025.
The company says that EV infrastructure is not keeping up with the growing number of EVs on roads.
Plug-in hybrid models account for 16% of ChargePoint's level 2 AC charging events.

The EV world may be somewhat in turmoil, but it finally feels like at least some aspects of EV ownership are starting to work themselves out. For example, charging infrastructure has been somewhat of a bright spot in a dark EV world; reliability is up, access is expanding and new EV drivers are finally understanding how to use the things. Now, EV charging deserts and dead zones are becoming less common, as consumers continue to build confidence in EV ownership.

And yet, despite all the bright news, some charging woes persist. Case in point: New data from ChargePoint shows that charging infrastructure isn’t keeping up with all the new EVs on the road.

That’s not good.

Polestar ChargePoint partnership

To come to this conclusion, ChargePoint compared its own charging data against the number of 2025 EV sales. Global EV sales were up by 20%, European EV sales were up by 33% and even in the now-EV-hostile U.S., 2025 was our second-best EV sales year ever. ChargePoint says that despite installing a whopping 190,000 new charging points (both level 2 AC charging and DC fast charging) in 2025, EV charging utilization outpaced growth by 20%. The company also says the number of charging sessions on its network shot up 34%, despite a much smaller increase in the number of EVs on the road.

It expects the mismatch to get worse in 2026, unless the rate of EV charger installation continues to grow.

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ChargePoint shared other interesting pieces of data about its EV chargers. About 16% of all of its AC charging events are done by plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). In addition, the growth in EV adoption has been so dramatic of late that almost 60% of the driving miles enabled by its chargers have occurred within the past two years of its 18-year existence.

I can’t help but chime in here. At least anecdotally, I’ve noticed my local EV chargers have gotten a bit more crowded. On one hand, it’s nice to finally see more and more drivers make the switch and ditch gas. On the other hand, I’m an inherently selfish and impatient person, and I find the concept of waiting in line to charge or an occupied EV charger to be a day-ruining experience.

I used to have a routine of going to certain stores or coffee shops that had EV charging, and letting the car charge while I worked or shopped. Now, more often than not, these EV chargers are occupied, which can really change my plans of opportunity charging while doing something else. If you’re not someone with home charging, this can quickly go from a mild inconvenience to a crisis.

What do you think?

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Now, this brings me to one potential silver lining of this year’s tough environment for EVs. Perhaps the predicted slowdown in EV sales, at least the one here in the U.S., could give ChargePoint (and other EV charging providers) some much-needed breathing room to build more chargers and keep up with growing demand.

Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com

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