What Over +50k User Comments Reveal About the State of Public Charging

ChargeHub's EV Charging Experience Barometer is a unique North American index that provides the industry with a measurable benchmark for public charging performance in North America as perceived by EV drivers.

This report analyzes over 50,000 user comments collected over two years to identify EV industry trends and developments. For the first time, data has been compiled separately for the USA and Canada, providing a unique comparative perspective. This approach allows us to explore the differences between these countries and better perceive the factors influencing cyclical variations in the EV charging experience.

Our Methodology 

Every quarter, our analysts compile and classify user feedback from the ChargeHub application, a valuable data source fed by over a million annual users. This analysis enables us to identify trends and evolutions in the North American charging ecosystem, offering a detailed insight into the user experience. 

ChargeHub’s data analysts divide the received comments into the following categories:

From 2023 to 2024, the year-over-year volume of comments analyzed increased by close to 10%, reinforcing the scope of this study and enabling an even finer analysis of market dynamics. This analysis includes only comments directly related to EV charging success. Once categorized and compiled, the comments can be used to track monthly trends and evaluate the evolving EV charging experience in the USA and Canada. 

The State of Public Charging Experience in North America 

Since our previous analysis published in October, we compiled data from the remaining six months of 2024, giving us an overall picture of the last two years. The following graph illustrates the evolution of charging network performance over this period.  

Main Findings of the Analysis 

• The overall index remains stable and consistent from one period to the next. However, variability is more pronounced in Canada (min-max deviation) than in the United States, although the overall index remains relatively non-volatile.
   
• The performance between 2023 and 2024 showed no major significant changes.  
  • On average, 60% of reported charging sessions were issue-free over the past 24 months, an increase of one percentage point on our previous analysis covering the period from January 2023 to June 2024. 
  • However, a slight year-over-year improvement is noticeable between the summers of 2023 and 2024. This improvement is fueled by the migration of comments from “Successfully recharged, but with reduced power or limited port availability” to “Successfully recharged without any problems.” In contrast, the other categories have remained relatively stable. 

A First Direct Comparison Between the USA and Canada 

Our team has compiled the data separately for the USA and Canada to better understand the fluctuations in results and the distinctions observed between the two countries.

Canadian Results - 2023-2024

The overall charging experience for EV drivers is better in Canada than in the United States, but this trend reverses during winter, particularly during months with snow cover. During these periods, the proportion of comments indicating a “Failed to charge” event increases, while reports of successful, problem-free charging decrease. On average, 22% of charging attempts in Canada are unsuccessful. The rate of unsuccessful attempts varies by 10 percentage points, ranging from 18% in the best-performing month to a maximum of 28% in the worst month.

United States Results - 2023-2024

The United States has relatively stable results throughout the year. The percentage rate of issue-free charging comments remains in the high 50s or low 60s, creating an overall average success rate of 59% for 2023-2024. According to the comments received, 22% of the charging attempts were unsuccessful in the best month. That same category went up to 30% in the worst month, leaving an average of 27% unsuccessful attempts.  

Key observations 

• Canada consistently outperforms the USA, but only outside the winter months. 
  • Canada's performance is comparable to or worse than the United States during the months with the most snowfall.
  • While in a given year, Canada seems to see a month-over-month improvement in charging experience, this trend appears to be primarily cyclical; it seems to “reset” with the arrival of the cold season. 
  • If the cyclical trend from the last two years continues, Canada should fall below the USA in our next analysis covering the winter months of 2025. 
    
    
• The USA has less seasonal variation (minimum and maximum values) in most comment categories than Canada.  
  • Only the category “Successfully recharged, but with reduced power or limited port availability” breaks the rule, with a difference of one percentage point greater for the USA than Canada. 

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