While the U.S. electric-vehicle market is seeing a slow recovery from last year’s incentives blow, current EV owners are increasingly satisfied with the state of public chargers.

According to JD Power’s 2026 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study, satisfaction with direct-current fast chargers rose 12 points year-over-year to 666 on a 1,000-point scale. Meanwhile, Level 2 chargers declined 12 points to 595.

The study measures satisfaction across 10 factors, and the biggest improvements were in charger availability, how safe customers feel at charging locations, and the cost of charging.

Slow charging speed was the most common problem for DC and Level 2 chargers, but it has improved for DC chargers in recent quarters. Satisfaction with Level 2 chargers declined, largely due to issues with ease of payment and ease of charging.

“The public charging experience is becoming more consistent, and that’s critical as the EV market matures,” said JD Power Executive Director of EV Solutions Brent Gruber.

“JD Power data consistently shows that public charging is the top reason new-vehicle shoppers reject EVs. The improvements we’re now seeing will go a long way toward supporting the infrastructure needed to meet the rise in forecasted EV sales in the coming years.”

Non-charging visits, when EV owners arrive at a public charging location and aren’t able to charge their vehicles, decreased to 12%, the lowest level JD Power has recorded in the six years it's conducted the study. Automaker-backed charging networks had the lowest failure rates.

“The newest generation of OEM-backed charging networks is showing what it looks like when public charging is designed around the driver,” Gruber said.

“By focusing on reliability, convenience and a more seamless charging journey, these networks are helping address some of the biggest barriers to EV adoption and raising expectations for the public charging experience.”