Even as auto industry executives, analysts and policy experts warn of an electric-vehicle slowdown in the United States, one crucial part of the EV transition didn’t slow down at all in 2025: the nation’s fast-charging network.
America’s EV public fast-charging network grew at a staggering pace last year, the charging analytics firm Paren reported Wednesday. The record-breaking year saw more than 18,000 new fast-charging ports installed nationwide. That marks the largest single-year buildout of fast-charging ports in the U.S., representing a 30% increase over the year before.
2026 Lucid Gravity Tesla Charging Photo by: Patrick George
That number comfortably blew past Paren’s estimate of about 16,700 new ports, which was optimistic by its own measure, the company said. It attributed this growth to the combined efforts of automakers, retailers and charging companies, all of whom teamed up to make driving battery-powered vehicles easier, faster and more convenient than ever before.
“The barriers for people leaning on public charging infrastructure are coming down,” Florent Breton, the CEO of Paren, told InsideEVs in an interview. “There’s now a better, more mature charging infrastructure that people can increasingly count on.”
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
This growth happened during a disruptive year for the auto industry. The Trump administration rolled back the $7,500 federal tax credit and heavily revised the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules, which now favor gas cars over EVs.
At the same time, on-again, off-again tariffs made the economic outlook uncertain and squeezed automakers’ bottom lines. As a result, automakers recalibrated their EV ambitions by focusing more on profitable gas trucks and SUVs in the near term, while still promising a wave of affordable electric models down the road.
Ionna Rechargery: Apex, North Carolina Photo by: John Voelcker
But charging companies did not hit the brakes in the same way. Despite the headwinds, they pushed ahead and delivered a record number of fast-charging ports, beating all odds. In fact, the fourth quarter was the strongest on record for fast-charging port deployment.
Charging networks deployed 5,769 new ports between October and December last year, marking a 44% year-over-year growth. That trend defied the end-of-year slowdown in EV sales due to the expiration of the federal tax credit.
“In Q4, companies that were deploying chargers were catching up on demand, which was way higher,” Breton said. “You had a massive number of new EVs at the beginning of October and that came in addition to existing EVs, which had a compounding effect.” Because of that, year-over-year charging sessions this January are already 20% higher, Paren said.
Photo by: Mercedes-Benz
Tesla continued to spearhead last year’s deployment, adding nearly 6,800 ports, more than the next nine networks combined. But other networks were able to scale just as impressively.
ChargePoint, Red E, EV Connect and Ionna rounded out the top five for new ports deployed in 2025. They focused on constructing new, high-powered charging stations with multiple connectors and a higher number of ports per site. The share of new fast chargers in Q4 capable of delivering 250+ kilowatts was 51%. Non-Tesla networks averaged 4.5 ports per station in Q4 (up from 3.8 in Q3), whereas Tesla continues to deploy massive stations averaging 14.4 ports per site.
In other words, the chances of you rolling up to broken, congested or frustratingly slow chargers are steadily declining. Instead, you’re more likely to end up at reliable, high-powered stations which are often located near places that have WiFi, restrooms—maybe even a decent selection of food and coffee.
Rivian Adventure Network, Joshua Tree Photo by: InsideEVs
Moreover, the number of Tesla-style North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports at non-Tesla stations also doubled last year to over 2,200, thanks to networks such as AppleGreen, BP Pulse, Ionna and Mercedes-Benz High Power Charging, which are all doubling down on large and multi-port sites. And stations funded by the Biden-era National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (NEVI) also picked up pace—after a slow start that earned plenty of criticism—with 99 new sites and 497 new ports.
The overall buildout of new chargers is translating into more flexibility for EV drivers, Paren said. Instead of being forced to rely on the only charger in their neighborhood, drivers can increasingly choose between multiple options, especially when it comes to pricing and amenities.
They can avoid expensive stations or choose locations that better match their schedules, whether that means taking a quick stop or a longer break with amenities where they can grab a snack and get rest.
Photo by: Suvrat Kothari
What’s also promising is that this growth stretched beyond just the country’s EV hotspots such as California, Texas and Florida. Illinois and Georgia doubled the number of charging ports deployed last year. And the number of ports deployed in South Carolina, Mississippi, and Maryland grew by 389%, 235% and 184%, respectively.
The surge was also driven by a new cohort of EV drivers, who, according to Breton, are different from the early adopters who have garages and space to install home charging equipment.
This chart shows the growth of NACS-equipped plugs at non-Tesla chargers.
Photo by: Paren
The new crop of EV buyers are relying more on public charging infrastructure because they don’t necessarily have driveways and home garages for Level 2 chargers. That explains why public fast-charging reached a whopping 141 million sessions last year, a 30% year-over-year growth.
Still, it wasn’t all great news. There’s plenty of room for growth in the country’s charging network. The adapter hell is not over yet. It will take years before NACS becomes the dominant standard on non-Tesla EVs, Paren said, which is why many networks are offering both CCS and NACS connectors, either of which may require adapters, depending on the vehicle.
Photo by: Paren
The buildout of new chargers also remains geographically uneven. Coastal states, major travel corridors and urban centers continue to see strong utilization rates and more investment from charging networks, while large parts of the Midwest lag behind, with fewer chargers and lower usage per port.
Studies have shown that range anxiety and charging concerns also still persist among U.S. car buyers, particularly those without access to home charging. And for many non-Tesla EV drivers, the charging experience is still far from seamless, often involving apps, payment systems and steps to authenticate the sessions.
Although that’s slowly changing with newer, easy-to-navigate stations like Ionna, and automakers such as GM consolidating all charging functions—from finding chargers, authentication and payment—into one app. In other words, the industry is clearly headed toward a charging experience that is frictionless for all EV drivers, but it will take time to fully get there.
“There’s still a long road ahead, but the EV industry is not dying,” Breton said. “It’s growing, and we can’t wait to see where 2026 takes us.”
Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com
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