EV Charger Rollout Slows After Trump Cuts Funding

The electric car has often been seen as a symbol of a cleaner future. In many countries, they are on the rise.

But in the United States, recent data shows a different story. The number of new fast-charging stations installed for electric vehicles has dropped sharply, reports Boosted.

This comes at a time when many hoped for stronger momentum. The need for chargers is growing, yet fewer are being built.

In the first three months of this year, the number of fast chargers installed fell by more than 21 percent compared to the same period last year.

This trend has made analysts nervous. BloombergNEF now expects only 285,000 new chargers to be installed this year.

That’s much lower than the earlier estimate of 360,000. Analyst Ash Wang says the long-term consequences could be serious.

If the pace doesn’t pick up, the 2030 goals may be missed by 30 percent or more. That could push people to look for alternatives to electric cars.

One major factor is political. When Donald Trump returned to the presidency, he suspended federal funding meant for charger infrastructure.

That program was supposed to provide $5 billion over five years to all 50 states. Without that funding, progress has slowed.

At the moment, the U.S. has just over 208,000 public charging points, according to the Department of Energy.

That sounds like a lot. But to keep up with expected EV growth, the country needs to add around 174,000 chargers every year.

The lack of support has worried private investors too. S&P Global believes fewer investors will now want to fund EV infrastructure.

That means fewer charging stations and more frustration for drivers.

The White House, through spokesperson Harrison Fields, blames Democrats. He called Biden’s EV push a failure.

He also said Trump is fully committed to ending what he called the “Green New Scam.”

For now, the EV future in the U.S. looks shaky.