U.S. adds 780 EV charging stations in third quarter

Americans just lost federal tax credits for buying an electric vehicle, but charging one has grown more convenient in recent months.

- BY KYLE STOCK AND TOPE ALAKE

CARLIN STIEHL Los Angeles Times

SOME stores now have charging stations. Above, a charging site in Hawthorne.

About 780 public high speed charging stations opened in the U.S. in the third quarter, the largest such infrastructure boom on record, according to Department of Energy data. The nation's charging infrastructure expanded by 19% in the first nine months of the year.

"The growth is pretty amazing right now given current policy and investment sentiment," said Chris Pierce, an analyst at Needham & Co. investment bank who covers charging networks.

Many of the new stations were probably given the green light before President Trump took office, according to Pierce. However, charging executives say the market for electrons is still underserved, even though EV sales are expected to slow without federal incentives.

"For a long time, the market was totally lopsided with a scarcity of chargers," Pierce said. "Now, it's getting a little less scarce, but we're still nowhere near a saturation point."