EV Charging's Seamless Promise vs. A Frustrating Reality

LOS ANGELES, CA – December 03, 2025

This week, EVgo, one of the nation’s largest electric vehicle charging networks, celebrated a significant milestone: its Autocharge+ service has surpassed five million charging sessions, with enrollment ballooning sixfold since 2023 to over 300,000 customers. The feature, which allows drivers to simply plug in and charge without fumbling for apps or credit cards, now accounts for nearly a third of all charging sessions on its network. In a press release, the company championed the achievement as proof of its commitment to a “seamless and convenient” experience.

On the surface, this is a clear victory for EV drivers long frustrated by a fragmented and often clumsy public charging landscape. The growth of Autocharge+ signals a powerful demand for the kind of frictionless experience that Tesla owners have long enjoyed. It represents a tangible step toward a future where charging an EV is as simple as refueling a gasoline car. Yet, beneath the celebratory numbers lies a more complex and troubling reality. For a large portion of EV drivers, the promise of a seamless charge is consistently broken not by the payment interface, but by the charging hardware itself.

The Allure of the Automatic Charge

The appeal of services like Autocharge+ is undeniable. After a one-time enrollment in the EVgo app, a driver’s vehicle and payment information are linked. Upon arriving at any EVgo station, the driver simply plugs the connector into their car, and the session begins automatically. The technology bypasses the need for RFID cards, phone apps, or credit card readers, which have long been points of failure and frustration.

“At EVgo, we’re committed to making fast charging seamless and convenient,” said Badar Khan, CEO of EVgo, in a statement celebrating the milestone. “With over five million Autocharge+ sessions, it’s clear that our customers value technology that brings ease and efficiency to the charging experience.”

This focus on user experience is critical. Charging anxiety—the fear of unreliable, unavailable, or difficult-to-use chargers—remains a primary barrier to mainstream EV adoption. By eliminating a key point of friction, EVgo aims to build customer loyalty and make the prospect of switching to electric less daunting for the average consumer. The company’s data shows this strategy is gaining traction, with drivers of popular models from Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, and Rivian leading enrollment. But this addresses only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

A System Short-Circuited by Unreliability

While initiating a charge has become easier for some, the fundamental reliability of the public charging infrastructure remains a pervasive issue. A seamless payment system is of little value when the charger itself is out of service. Recent industry-wide data paints a stark picture that contrasts sharply with the polished corporate narrative.

A March 2025 survey from Consumer Reports found that EV owners encountered a problem in a staggering 21% of their public charging attempts. The primary culprits were not payment systems, but broken or non-functional chargers. In that same report, the EVgo network was cited by drivers as having problems in 43% of charging sessions, placing it among the networks with higher reported issues. This stands in stark contrast to the highly reliable closed networks of Tesla and Rivian, which saw problem rates of just 4% and 5%, respectively.

This isn't an isolated finding. A J.D. Power study from August 2024, while noting some improvement in satisfaction, still found that nearly one in five charging attempts failed, with out-of-service chargers being a leading cause. Furthermore, a 2024 McKinsey survey revealed that 70% of current EV owners are dissatisfied with the public charging infrastructure. The convenience of Autocharge+ cannot compensate for the experience of arriving at a station with a low battery only to find all chargers are offline—a scenario all too familiar to non-Tesla EV drivers.

EVgo states that Autocharge+ contributes to a “higher charge success rate,” a metric defined as the ability to successfully initiate a session on the first attempt. This metric, however, conveniently sidesteps the larger issue of charger uptime. A session cannot be initiated, successfully or otherwise, on a machine that is broken. True accountability requires a focus not just on successful handshakes between car and charger, but on the baseline functionality of the network as a whole.

The Quiet War Over Charging Standards

The push for convenience has also sparked a battle over the technological standards that will underpin the future of charging. EVgo’s Autocharge+ is a proprietary system that works by recognizing a vehicle's unique identifier. While effective, it is not based on ISO 15118, the open international standard for “Plug & Charge” communication. This standard, used by competitors like Electrify America, enables secure, automatic authentication via encrypted digital certificates, creating a framework for any compliant car to work with any compliant charger, regardless of network operator.

An open standard like ISO 15118 is widely seen as essential for creating a truly interoperable and consumer-friendly ecosystem, preventing the kind of proprietary “walled gardens” that can stifle competition and confuse customers. The federal government’s NEVI program, which allocates billions for building a national charging network, mandates support for ISO 15118, signaling its importance for the industry’s future.

This debate over communication protocols is happening alongside the industry’s rapid consolidation around Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector. While EVgo and others are adding NACS plugs to their stations, the physical connector is only half the equation. The underlying software and security protocols are what will ultimately determine whether the future of charging is an open, competitive marketplace or a patchwork of proprietary systems. For consumers, the difference is profound, impacting everything from payment security to the freedom to choose their charging provider without friction.

Ultimately, while milestones like five million Autocharge+ sessions are laudable indicators of progress in user interface design, they risk masking a deeper systemic failure. The promise of a seamless future for electric mobility cannot be fulfilled by software innovation alone. It requires a relentless and transparent commitment to the unglamorous work of hardware maintenance, network reliability, and the adoption of open standards. Until the experience of finding a functional public charger is as reliable as the technology used to pay for it, the EV transition will continue to be an uphill climb for millions of American drivers.