January 22, 2026 - EV Charging Still Expanding In US

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for January 22, 2026, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry.  

The growth rate of electric vehicle adoption may have plateaued in the U.S. in 2025, but public charging infrastructure is still expanding at a prodigious rate even into 2026. The Alternative Fuels Data Center from the U.S. Department of Energy provides a rich source of information on all forms of transportation energy providers beyond traditional gasoline and diesel pumps. This includes biodiesel, CNG, E85, hydrogen, LNG, and propane in addition to electric charging. 

Despite efforts by the Trump administration to stop payments from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, 3,656 new public DC fast charging stations with over 17,500 charge ports opened in the U.S. in 2025. That's 28% more charge ports than opened in 2024 at 12% more locations and the best year to date. Just in the first three weeks of 2026, an additional 146 locations have opened with another 710 charge ports. In addition to the number of chargers expanding, the experience is mostly getting better as well. Newer networks like Ionna are including canopies at many locations for weather protection as well as other features like windshield washing, trash cans and even break areas to get a snack or drink. EVGo and GM Energy are also expanding their highway network with Pilot Travel Centers, with each location being at a facility with these amenities. 

Despite the end of federal EV tax credits in the US last September, the launch of more lower cost EVs this year including the new Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt, Slate, and Ford's upcoming $30,000 midsize pickup should combine with the expanding availability and improving reliability of public charging to entice more buyers that were on the fence to make the jump over to an EV. 

Thanks for listening.