Amid growing uncertainty surrounding the expansion of public charging infrastructure, home charging continues to be a boon for electric vehicle (EV)1 owners, despite declines in satisfaction among owners of both Level 22 charging segments, according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Home Charging Study,SM released today. Overall satisfaction among owners of Level 2 portable charging stations is 714 (on a 1,000-point scale) and 733 for Level 2 permanently mounted home chargers, 21 and 11 points lower, respectively, than a year ago. Owner satisfaction with Level 1 portable chargers remains constant at 581.
“While home charging remains the pinnacle of convenience when it comes to EVs, there are some pain points felt by owners across all three charging segments,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power. “Chief among them are charging speeds, cord length and the cost of charging. Energy prices are still on the rise in much of the country, and this has negative effects on the industry. Furthermore, because charging speed has tremendous influence on customer satisfaction, home charging stakeholders should particularly focus on ensuring charging speeds are optimized to meet customer needs.”
Following are some key findings of the 2025 study:
- App and internet connectivity problems plague Level 2 permanently mounted chargers: Despite having the highest satisfaction scores among owners, Level 2 permanently mounted chargers are the most problematic with 39.0 problems per 100 chargers (PP100). Nearly one-third (31%) of the total problems experienced in this charger segment are the result of internet/Wi-Fi connectivity issues and charger app problems. “These functions are not as widely available on other types of chargers and are an advantage for Level 2 permanently mounted providers, but ensuring they work consistently in a variety of home environments brings an added challenge that suppliers should keep in mind,” said Gruber.
- Customers may be showing signs of home electricity price fatigue: The average amount of money that owners say they spent on EV home charging in the past 30 days has increased to $58, up $2 from a year ago. As a result, satisfaction with the cost of charging is 698, down 8 points from the 2024 study. While the cost increase may not seem like much, it may represent post-pandemic consumer weariness with pricing, along with the uncertainty of potential changes to federal EV support and energy regulation. However, it is notable that home charging satisfaction varies by region across the country. Owners in the Northeast and West Coast are subject to the highest EV charging costs. Consequently, cost of charging satisfaction in the Northeast (580) and West Coast (651) is much lower than among owners who reside in other regions (728).
- Charging speed can make or break customer satisfaction: When customers indicate experiencing slower-than-normal charging speed problems, satisfaction declines 141 points compared with those customers who do not. Problems such as internet connectivity issues (74-point decline) have less of an effect on customer satisfaction, which explains why customer satisfaction is highest among customers who have Level 2 permanently mounted chargers even though they also experience the most problems.
- Signs of slowing adoption for Level 2 chargers: While overall usage continues to trend toward Level 2 permanently mounted home chargers, there are signs that Level 2 adoption among owners might be slowing. Level 2 usage overall is highest among owners of 2022 model-year vehicles, while Level 1 usage steadily increases among owners of 2023 and newer model-year vehicles. “The study finds that access to Level 2 charging at home is a key component in overall EV ownership satisfaction, so facilitating Level 2 capabilities for owners by reinforcing the benefits—whether through OEM or aftermarket solutions—should remain an area of focus for the industry,” Gruber said.
Study Ranking
While the study examines the home charging experience of EV owners across all three charger segments, only the Level 2 permanently mounted charging station segment is award eligible this year.
Tesla ranks highest among Level 2 permanently mounted charging stations for a fifth consecutive year, with a score of 776. Emporia (763) ranks second and Wallbox (756) ranks third.
The U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Home Charging Study, now in its fifth year, is driven by a collaboration with PlugShare, the leading EV driver app maker and research firm. This study sets the standard for benchmarking satisfaction with the critical attributes that affect the total or overall EV home charging experience for both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
Satisfaction is measured across eight factors: fairness of retail price; cord length; size of charger; ease of winding/storing cable; cost of charging; charging speed; ease of use; and reliability. These factors provide a comprehensive assessment of the owner experience and charger performance. Respondents include 10,472 owners of 2019-2025 model year BEVs and PHEVs. The study was fielded from November 2024 through January 2025.
1Electric vehicles (EV) include battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).
2J.D. Power defines charger segments as Level 1 portable; Level 2 portable; or Level 2 permanently mounted (permanent). Level 1 portable charging stations offer simple electric vehicle charging capabilities at home through a standard 120-volt electrical outlet. Level 2 portable charging stations offer faster charging capabilities at home through an upgraded 240-volt electrical outlet. Level 2 permanently mounted charging stations use an upgraded 240-volt electrical outlet via a permanently wall-mounted format.
SOURCE: J.D. Power
