When was the last time you took a road trip? Have you ever been driving through the mountains, along the coast or through the desert, deep into an audio book, listening to your favorite jams or an having an intellectual debate about the existence of aliens only to realize that you passed the last gas for 102 miles sign 40 miles ago with only 75 miles of gas left? This is what EV drivers refer to as Range Anxiety. Being an avid road tripper, this has happened to me on many occasions either cruising down the pacific coast highway on the west coast or on highway 10 passing through rock fields and deserts. There are many gas stations in and around cities but once you are out on the open road there are still spots where it can be up to 100 miles before the next gas station. The primary difference between the scenario I described and the experience of “some” EV drivers is that you don’t have to be in the desert, mountains or along the coast to experience Range Anxiety.
There are many different charging networks requiring many different methods of access and payment. Before charging your EV most charging networks require that you download an app and enter your payment information into the app. Some charging networks require you to use a membership card or keyfob to access chargers and make payments. Since there are few if any open charging networks with enough conveniently located charging locations most non-Tesla EV owners end up loading multiple apps, creating multiple accounts and having to do a lot of homework prior to taking a road trip.
As of August 2023 ChargePoint was the largest charging network in the united states with over 31,000 locations hosting over 56,000 level 2 and level 3 plugs. The problem with the ChargePoint network is that most (96%) of the plugs are level 2 usually hosted at retail and residential locations with others strewn around at random and remote locations. If you are on a road trip down the coast the several hours that it takes to charge at a level 2 charger will rapidly suck the joy out of your trip.
In November of 2023 the Electrify America charging network claimed the largest “open” fast charging network title with over 840 locations hosting 3,800 plugs. The key word in that title is “Open” as Electrify Americas network is made up mostly of the outdated Combined Charging Standard (CCS) plugs that most non-Tesla vehicles are equipped with. The other unfortunate fact about Electrify America is that the locations are not very well thought out and usually at remote locations not convenient to highway travelers on a road trip. Also since Electrify America was more a punishment to VW for Diesel Gate and not a business that VW had any interest in, it has been poorly maintained and has serious uptime and reliability issues. Now, with all major auto manufacturers adopting the NACS connector as the charging port on new vehicles in 2025 the EA CCS network seems doomed without a major retrofit and the addition of the NACS connector.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network is currently the largest, most efficient and most reliable DC Fast Charging Network in the World. Tesla has about 20,000 DC Fast Charging plugs at about 2,000 Tesla Super Charger locations in the United States and over 50,000 around the world. For the most part these locations are accessible by Tesla EVs only with a small number of Supercharger locations being equipped with MagicDock Tesla’s NACS to CCS adapter. NonTesla EV owners can use the Tesla App to locate, pay for and use MagicDock equipped Supercharger locations to charge their EVs.
By now you’re probably wondering what these levels are all about level 1 versus level 2 versus level 3 EV charging. The levels refer to how much energy is available from the charging point and how long it will typically take to charge up the battery on an EV.
Let’s start with level one, a level 1 charger is basically the charger in the wall at your house 120 volts basically the amount of power that you would draw using a hair dryer. Most new EVS will come with a level 1 charging adapter in the trunk that you can use to slowly charge your electric vehicle at home or on the go anywhere you can find a regular outlet. However this is by far the slowest method to charge your view you can expect to gain anywhere from 2-4 miles of range for each hour of charging at a level of 1 charger.
Level 2 Chargers run at 240 volts or about double level 1 Chargers level 2 Chargers use about as much energy as a clothes dryer. If you can plug your EV into your dryer plug you can expect to get anywhere from 16-45 miles of range for each hour of charging. Level 2 chargers make up the majority of ChargePoint’s Network as well as the majority of other networks. Level 2 Chargers are also the category that most “Destination Chargers” fall into. When you arrive at your hotel, grocery store, the mall you may find a Level 2 “Destination Charger” available. Level 2 chargers are fine if you were planning to be there for a few hours anyway and on occasion the Destination Chargers are free for customers although sometimes there is a fee.
Level 3 Chargers double the volts yet again at 480 volts or the power output used to power industrial motors and heating applications Level 3 Chargers can supply up a full charge in as little as 20 minutes or from 200 – 600 miles of range per hour of Charge. Level 3 Chargers allow for a brief bathroom break and maybe a quick snack if your hurry. In most cases after a minimum of 3 hours of driving (210 miles at 70 mph) a bathroom / snack break is needed.
In my experience at DC Fast Chargers after plugging the car in, by the time I grab my jacket and my wallet and make sure everything is in order before I walk away from the car and to the restroom or convenience store about 5 minutes has passed. It takes about 5 minutes to use the bathroom and washing hands, another 5 minute’s selecting and paying for road trip drinks and snack and finally another 2-3 minutes to walk back to the car. It most cases by the time I get drinks in cup holders and snacks in easy reach of the driver the car is charged and its time to go. On rare occasions the Cars App has notified me that the car has finished charging before I have paid for my drinks and snacks and I have to hurry back to the charger to avoid “Idle Fees” of up to $1 per minute.
The NACS Coalition
Over the past several months several major auto manufactures and well as EV startups have signed on the NACS Coalition and agreed to use the North American Charging Standard AKA The Tesla Plug to charge their EVs. Beginning in 2025 automakers will begin including the NACS connector on their new EVs with some offering a CCS to NACS adapter in 2024. This will allow existing EVs to use Tesla’s Super Charger Network Members of the NACS Coalition will gain access to a little more than half of these locations making the experience of driving a non-Tesla EV much more pleasant than it is currently. Since most other charging networks are made up of mostly level 2 chargers and / or are very unreliable with charging locations that have usually from 2 – 6 charging plugs compared to Tesla’s average of 12.
The Osborne Effect is the phenomenon that occurs when a manufacturer announces a new product with increased performance and functionality at a similar price as their current best selling product there by cannibalizing the sales of the current product.
With essentially all new EVs in 2025 and beyond adopting the NACS connector what does that mean for the value of EVs currently being sold with the now all but obsolete Combined Charging Standard (CCS)? Would you buy an EV in 2024 knowing that it comes with a charging port that no new car will ever be made with after 2025? Is it wise to buy a vehicle that has a CCS port that will be difficult if not impossible to find a plug to charge with 5 years from now? After 2025 no new CCS charging locations will be built, in fact construction of new CCS charging locations has already slowed.
What are your thoughts?
Is it better to wait until the charging standards war dust settles and buy a vehicle with a NACS plug in 2025, buy a Tesla with the NACS plug now or look for steep discounts on EV with CCS? See the next post for my thoughts on the coming CCS apocalypse.