TELEMETRY STUDY: HOME CHARGING COST, SPACE AND AVAILABILITY MAY SLOW EV GROWTH

Garage space, prohibitively expensive electrical upgrades and charging availability for multi-family dwellings (apartments) remain challenges for EV adoption.

NOVI, Mich., August 20, 2025 — Telemetry’s 2025 EV Charging Market report

reveals three key challenges slowing the growth of home EV charging, the most surprising of

which is that many American garages have too much junk in the trunk.

While new public DC fast chargers continue to be built across the country, home charging

remains critical for EV adoption, accounting for 80% of all EV charging today. However,

challenges in home charging could slow the rate of adoption.

Telemetry’s conservative estimates show that the U.S. EV market share will rise to 20% by

2035 — up from just under 10% today — with more aggressive forecasts coming in at over 40% of all new vehicle sales a decade from now.

Many Homeowners Can't Charge in Their Garages Because They're Using Them for Storage

The first challenge is behavioral; as many as one-third of American homeowners with garages

can’t park because their garages are filled with stuff.

“90% of all houses can add a 240-volt outlet near where cars could be parked,” notes Telemetry Vice President of Market Research Sam Abuelsamid. “Parking behavior, namely whether homeowners use a private garage for parking or storage, will likely become a key factor in EV adoption. Today, garage-use intent is potentially a greater factor for in-house charging ability than the house’s capacity to add 240-volt outlets."

Citing research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, an estimated 42% of

homeowners park near existing electrical access that can be modified to work with a Level 2

charger. However, this number rises to 68% if homeowners change their parking behavior, most likely by clearing a space in their garage.

Therefore, for many potential EV drivers, the challenge of installing home EV chargers isn’t just technical or cost-related, but behavioral: too many Americans use their garages for storage.

The Cost of Home Electrical Upgrades Can Be Prohibitive

The second challenge facing home charging adoption is the prohibitive cost of upgrading their

home’s electrical service; of homeowners with access and space to add home charging, nearly

40% cannot add appropriate wiring without extensive electrical work, often costing thousands of dollars.

Older homes with marginal (20 or fewer amp) garage electrical service, or newer or already

upgraded homes without shorter wiring runs from their home’s service to the garage, could face steep costs to install 240-volt, 30-amp or more electrical service, eroding EV ownership advantages over gas-powered vehicles.

Residents of Multi-Family Dwellings Face Charging Access Challenges

The third challenge involves EV owners who live in multi-family dwellings (MFDs) like

apartments, townhomes and many condos, which may only come with a carport. Long-term

issues remain for residential charging for these roughly 23% of Americans and 34% of

Canadians who live in something other than a single-family home.

While 20% of new EV purchasers today live in MFDs, just 11% report parking near charging

access at their residence. Even in a best-case scenario that would enable residents to add a

charger where they park, that number tops out at 26%.

Some states and provinces mandate EV-readiness for 20% to 25% of parking spaces at new

MFD constructions. Again, that remains the exception, not the rule.

The long-term challenge for apartment-dwellers is that, as more affordable EVs hit the used

market, the number of EVs at MFDs will only climb higher, placing an even higher premium on EV-capable parking spaces.

Growth in Public Level 2 and Level 3 (DCFC) 2025-2035

In addition to details about the needs for and challenges to private, at-home charging, the report also details the forecasted growth of both the Level 2 and Level 3 public EV charging networks.

While Level 3 charging takes significantly less time to top off EV batteries, charging prices for

EV drivers and capital investment required by public EV charging operators and local utilities

are substantial.

These costs, which include anticipated expenses for upgrading electrical substations to support new DCFC capabilities, are forecast to cost billions of dollars through 2035. “The difficulties in getting power to DCFC sites are further compounded by the rapid development of new AI data centers that consume huge amounts of generation and distribution capacity as well as transformers.” The breakdown of these costs by Level 2 and Level 3 are detailed in the report.

For the full report, please reach out to us at

https://www.telemetryagency.com/evchargingmarketforecast. To purchase a one-hour live

briefing with our research executives, contact us at hello@telemetryagency.com; specific

questions may be submitted before the briefing.

* Before joining Telemetry, Sam Abuelsamid spent a decade as a transportation technology analyst at Navigant/Guidehouse Insights and worked as an automotive journalist and in product and technology communications at Ford and General Motors. Abuelsamid has over two decades of experience as a product development engineer in the automotive industry, working on advanced electronic control systems, embedded software and architectures. He frequently speaks at transportation technology conferences and hosts the Wheel Bearings and Telemetry Transportation Daily podcasts. He is a frequent guest on CNBC and is regularly cited in stories by Reuters, the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. He also contributes to numerous publications, including Forbes, Automotive Engineering, and others. He holds a BSc in mechanical engineering from Kettering University.

For more information about Telemetry and its services, please visit www.telemetryagency.com

About Telemetry 

Founded in 2020, Telemetry is a strategic communications firm specializing in content strategy and brand publishing, analyst research, and business consulting services tailored for the automotive, technology, mobility, and transportation industries. We help brands connect with their audiences through storytelling, precise messaging, and data-driven insights.