The charging infrastructure is still minimal.
Worse, it’s occasionally reliable, at best.
Will companies also cut charging infrastructure investments?
I’ve regularly reviewed EVs since my first encounters with the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Nissan LEAF in 2011. Generally speaking, I’ve liked or enjoyed most of them, but I always held the ICE close to my heart. Over time, as you know, EVs have evolved to a point where they match and surpass the average petrol-powered vehicle in almost every way. Two aspects continue to plague the electric vehicle, however.
The first is pricing, and with the recent incentive cuts, this issue is not about to be resolved despite economies of scale. Automakers share development costs via joint investments and reprising platforms and batteries for several models. With consumer demand stalling and waning in some areas, car companies have zoomed out from EVs and are focusing on hybrids and PHEVs. In other words, lower volumes will not equal lower pricing in the medium to long term.
The other issue is charging. And it’s a biggie.
Although it’s understood that most EV charging takes place at home, the charging infrastructure remains an absolute necessity if we hope to increase the adoption rate.
I have a FLO Home X5 smart charger and it’s a key differentiator. It has fed every EV I’ve reviewed over the last while, and quite frankly, it has performed flawlessly. If you’re in the market for an EV, get a home charger—it’s an absolute must.
FLO Home X5 Charger | Photo: Matt St-PierreOn the road is where things get dicey
I recently took delivery of a new 2025 Kia EV9 and have already witnessed cracks in the infrastructure. I’ve often used level 2 and level 3 fast chargers in the past and found that in three out of every four “visits,” everything goes well. This is unacceptable—imagine pulling up to a petrol station only to discover, one out of every four stops, that the pump doesn’t work.
My first stop at a Circuit Electric charging station with my new EV9 proved an exercise in patience and frustration. I chose a specific location for its eight 180-kW chargers, hoping for a 20-minute quickie before heading back out on the road. Unfortunately, the first two chargers I plugged into the EV9 would not speak to it or drop the connection seconds after saying hi. The fiddling with the chargers and finally plugging in for a third time cost me more than 30 minutes of my time, $10, and a substantially smaller range extension. Improvements are a must.
If I were to step out of my EV owner’s shoes and put on a Charging Company hat, would I invest in improving my product and the experience, or would I wait and see? With provincial and federal EV mandates possibly being reconsidered, incentives gone, and automakers revising their priorities, a “wait and see” approach seems more sensible. Another factor is the Tesla Supercharger network—my EV9 came equipped with an NACS adaptor…
Despite the charging experience, which I do not think will improve soon, I look forward to living and travelling with the Kia EV9. Next time, I might try the adaptor.
