The HERE-SBD EV Index 2026 finds that US drivers are becoming more confident in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure even as EV adoption growth slows.
America added 31,600 public charge points over the past year, representing 13% of the country’s total public charging network. Total available charging power increased 47%, from 14.1 GW to 20.7 GW.
That expansion appears to be affecting how drivers view EV charging. Positive perceptions of public charging availability increased from 28% to 47%, while 60% of US respondents said they were confident the country could develop the infrastructure needed to support greater EV adoption.
For charging-infrastructure engineers and planners, the index provides a snapshot of how charger deployment and available power are developing alongside EV adoption. It also highlights where infrastructure growth is keeping pace with demand and where additional capacity may be needed.
More than half of drivers surveyed said they are more open to considering an EV than they were a year ago. Improvements in charging infrastructure, charging speed, and vehicle range were among the factors influencing that shift.
Charging availability and driving range remain concerns, but fewer respondents identified them as barriers compared with last year’s survey. Among current EV drivers, 85% rated public charging coverage as good or better, up 13 percentage points from 2025.
The index also shows that charging infrastructure maturity remains uneven across the country. Delaware, Washington, DC, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut ranked highest for EV market maturity, while several states saw charging infrastructure struggle to keep pace with EV adoption.
The HERE-SBD EV Index combines infrastructure and adoption data with a consumer survey of more than 4,000 drivers across the US, Europe, India, and Australia. The infrastructure analysis covers data collected between June 2025 and June 2026.
Filed Under: Charging, Technology News