ChargePoint Data Suggests That Charging Infrastructure Is Not Keeping up With Driver Demand
ChargePoint, a global provider of electric vehicle charging solutions, announced new data insights drawn from more than 100 million EV charging sessions enabled over the past year. When combined with recently released 2025 EV sales figures, the data indicates that charging infrastructure growth is failing to keep pace with rising driver demand. The news was announced on Business Wire on February 11, 2026.
ChargePoint’s analysis shows strong growth in both charging port deployment and network utilization, while also underscoring a widening gap between the number of EVs on the road and the infrastructure required to support them. Global EV sales rose 20 percent in 2025, with Europe up 33 percent and the United States posting its second-strongest EV sales year on record. ChargePoint now supports more than one million active drivers each month, and vehicles identified as plug-in hybrids account for 16 percent of all commercial AC charging sessions on the platform.
Measured by either session volume or utilization, charging demand continues to outstrip new charger installations. In 2025, charging session volume increased 34 percent, far exceeding growth in the overall vehicle population. Although 190,000 additional charging ports were added to the ChargePoint network, utilization still grew nearly 20 percent faster than port deployment. Without a higher pace of charger installation, this imbalance is expected to worsen in 2026.
The acceleration of electrification is delivering meaningful environmental benefits. Since 2007, ChargePoint estimates it has helped avoid the consumption of 714 million gallons of gasoline, saving drivers more than $2 billion in fuel costs and preventing over 4.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Today, the company provides access to roughly 375,000 ChargePoint-managed public and private ports, along with more than 900,000 additional roaming ports worldwide.
The United States Needs to Improve EV Charger Density
A January 2026 report by Visual Capitalist showed the United States trailing other countries in EV charger density , measured as the number of electric vehicles per public charger as of Q3 2025, using data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
The Netherlands leads globally with just five EVs per public charger, reflecting a highly coordinated, demand-driven deployment strategy that minimizes congestion despite a limited share of fast chargers. China ranks second with nine EVs per charger, driven by the rapid expansion of DC fast charging, which already accounts for nearly half of its public network and underpins its EV adoption at scale. Several European countries fall in the middle, with 10 to 15 EVs per charger as they steadily expand fast-charging capacity. The United States lags behind, with 31 EVs per public charger, underscoring a persistent gap between EV adoption and charging infrastructure despite a growing share of fast chargers.
EVinfo.net’s Take: EV Charging a Great Investment as Mass EV Adoption Coming to USA
The recent slowdown in U.S. electric vehicle sales has prompted questions about the pace of adoption, but the long-term trajectory remains clear. Mass EV adoption in the United States is still coming, driven by expanding model availability, improving battery technology, and declining total cost of ownership. Short-term market fluctuations do not change the structural shift underway. The challenge is not whether EVs will scale, but whether the country’s charging infrastructure will be ready when demand accelerates again.
Today, EV adoption is already outpacing charging deployment in many regions. Utilization across public and private charging networks continues to rise, signaling that existing infrastructure is being used more frequently and more efficiently. For charging operators, this trend matters. Higher utilization directly translates into stronger unit economics, faster payback periods, and more predictable revenue. As EV penetration increases, well-sited chargers move from being underused assets to critical infrastructure with durable demand.
EV charging is also proving to be a compelling real estate and infrastructure investment. Chargers can be deployed across a wide range of locations, including retail centers, grocery stores, multifamily housing, workplaces, hotels, curbside parking, and fleet depots. This flexibility allows site hosts to integrate charging into existing properties while future-proofing them for an electric transportation system.
Beyond charging revenue, EV infrastructure creates meaningful downstream benefits for surrounding businesses. Charging introduces dwell time, the period when drivers remain on-site while their vehicles charge. During this time, drivers are more likely to shop, dine, or use nearby services, increasing foot traffic and incremental sales. Retailers and property owners increasingly view EV charging not just as an amenity, but as a tool to attract higher-value, repeat customers.
Preparing for mass EV adoption requires action now. Investments made during periods of slower sales growth position operators and site hosts to capture outsized returns when adoption accelerates. The U.S. will need significantly more charging capacity to support the next phase of electrification, and the operators who build early, optimize locations, and scale intelligently will be best positioned to benefit as EVs move from early adoption to the mainstream.
