How government helped build America’s EV charging market

The US charging network 2.0—The evolution of a revolution: Part 2
» Read part 1 here: How the biggest US EV charging networks got their starts

The US public charging market did not emerge from private capital alone. From ARRA to IIJA, IRA and rural grant programs, federal policy repeatedly stepped in to create baseline charger demand, subsidize deployment, and teach the industry what real-world charging actually looked like.

The same is true in reverse: the policy turmoil of 2025 showed how quickly Washington can change the planning environment for network operators, site hosts and investors.

Government expands the fledgling market

Two federal programs provided essential funding for fledgling EV charging networks and greatly boosted the understanding of how EV chargers performed. The first federal action to fund EV charging came as part of the response to the global financial crisis caused by lax oversight of the mortgage industry. The recession of 2007-2009, described by the Federal Reserve as the Great Recession and its aftermath, triggered widespread foreclosures, a collapse of the financial industry, and a stock market crash that vaporized the life savings of millions of families. In an effort to reignite the economy, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which President Obama signed into law on February 17, 2009. Federal spending from the law ultimately reached $831 billion, of which $115 million (a scant 0.014%) went to the two EV charging infrastructure programs, the EV Project and ChargePoint America.

The ARRA-era programs did not just pay for early chargers. They gave the industry its first real-world data and lessons, which still underpin charging strategy today.

According to the Department of Energy’s 2013 final report on ChargePoint America, when electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids arrived in late 2010, there was “a substantial lack of infrastructure to support these vehicles.” The programs were designed to study charging infrastructure and use the lessons learned to support future deployment of plug-in electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure needed to support them.

These projects were literally and figuratively breaking ground as the awardees—Coulomb Technologies (later ChargePoint) and Ecotality—were figuring out how to work with local permitting authorities, utilities, engineering companies and electricians to design and implement chargers at residential and commercial locations. Mastering that process and getting chargers energized still bewilders novice (and some veteran) network operators and contractors. The studies also collected equipment and operating-cost data that charging networks and government agencies later used to estimate future costs and incentive levels.

Perhaps the most valuable insight from the programs was the first large-scale study of charger utilization: how many vehicles charge at a station, how long they remain connected, and how much energy is delivered to vehicle batteries. Combined, the two projects installed more than 17,000 chargers and collected data from millions of charging sessions. Ecotality went bankrupt before the EV Project ended, but its legacy endured after the network assets were purchased and morphed into today’s Blink network, while ChargePoint went on to operate more stations than anyone else in the US.

ARRA also made it easier for charging networks to accelerate their return on investment by expanding infrastructure tax credits beyond biofuels and hydrogen to include EV charging. For 2009-2010, the law increased the tax credit to 50% of total cost, up to $50,000 for commercial EV charging equipment, before returning to the previous 30% and $30,000 thresholds.

In 2016, the DOE went down another avenue to make more chargers available: loaning money to EV charging project developers. The Loan Programs Office clarified that EV charging builders were now eligible for low-interest loans from $4.5 billion in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy funds. After the passage of the FAST Act in December 2015, the Obama White House designated 48 areas along highways across the US as national electric vehicle charging corridors. The act also directed DOE to study optimal national charging deployment scenarios, work that states and private developers later used to understand where future chargers should go.

Why this matters: The ARRA-era programs did not just pay for early chargers. They gave the industry its first real-world data on cost, utilization, siting, permitting and operations. These lessons still underpin charging strategy today.

IRA and IIJA try to save the day

Flash forward to 2021, and again an incoming Democratic administration grappled with a global financial crisis, and again it enacted legislation that included funding for EV charging infrastructure—only this time on a much larger scale than ARRA. The COVID-19 pandemic put global economies in a tailspin and, according to the Census Bureau’s summary of pandemic effects on employment, reduced the US workforce by 6.7 million between 2020 and 2021. During COVID, the previous decade of continuous growth in EV and charger sales unsurprisingly came to a screeching halt.

If ARRA helped prove the concept, IIJA and IRA attempted to industrialize it. They did not just underwrite more equipment, they created a far larger and more durable baseline of charger demand and available infrastructure.

Enacted in November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act established two major programs to expand EV charging. The five-year National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program provides $5 billion to deploy public DC fast charging infrastructure, and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure discretionary grant program provides $2.5 billion for the strategic deployment of EV infrastructure as well as liquid and gaseous fueling.

The NEVI program, which pays for up to 80% of eligible project costs, allocates funds to states based on a formula determined by FHWA on an annual basis. As of February 2025, $526.6 million of the $5 billion in NEVI funds had been obligated by approved state plans. FHWA had also awarded three rounds of CFI grants totaling $1.7 billion.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contained multiple provisions intended to stimulate EV and charging markets. The law reinstated the Alternative Fuel Refueling Property Tax Credit, better known as 30C, after it had expired in 2021; raised the maximum credit for charging equipment to $100,000; and extended the incentive through 2032. By expanding the credits, the IRA aimed to build on the more than 47,000 public and private places to charge and more than 2.24 million plug-in vehicles registered in the US in 2021, according to DOE.

Another federal funding source for growing the charger network is the USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. The funding is available to community-based nonprofits and tribal organizations that can work with network operators to develop essential community facilities in rural areas—a category that now includes EV charging infrastructure.

Why this matters: If ARRA helped prove the concept, IIJA and IRA attempted to industrialize it. They did not just underwrite more equipment, they created a far larger and more durable baseline of charger demand and available infrastructure.

Putting EVs and charging in reverse

Jump ahead to 2025, and quickly after taking office, Trump administration officials took steps to dismantle federal support for EVs and charging infrastructure. In February, the administration rescinded prior guidance to states on how to implement NEVI, and suspended approval of all State Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment plans, effectively putting the program on hiatus. On May 7, 2025, 17 state attorneys general sued the federal government for attempting to cancel congressionally approved NEVI funding, and on June 26 the US District Court for the Western District of Washington ordered that the funding be restored.

Charging has become a partially policy-built market. This means that policy whiplash can quickly become project whiplash.

In August, the Secretary of Transportation issued revised NEVI guidance that sought to remove some document requirements and reduce the need for public input. The revised guidance “simplifies things and gives more local control and flexibility” in where to install chargers, according to Ben Prochazka, Executive Director of the Electrification Coalition, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works to accelerate EV adoption.

In July 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill became law, adding a deadline for the 30C investment tax credit that requires projects, including EV chargers, to be in service by June 30, 2026. The administration also paused the CFI program in 2025, and no date has been given for future rounds of funding.

On November 21, 2025, a bipartisan group of 88 senators and House members wrote a letter urging continued funding for NEVI, CFI and related infrastructure programs. The lawmakers argued that surface transportation reauthorization is essential to giving states and localities the stability they need to plan long-term infrastructure projects. Providing that support would put money into the system and unlock private investment by reducing risk for infrastructure companies, according to Prochazka. “Finishing the job regarding NEVI and CFI shows that there is consistent support from the federal government. In the end, we are going to electrify transportation,” he said.

Dave Packard, the former president of ClipperCreek, believes the industry will continue to grow despite the vicissitudes of federal support. “Having been in this industry for 30 years, we’ve lived through swings in federal charging policy plenty of times,” he said.

Why this matters: Charging has become a partially policy-built market. That means policy whiplash can quickly become project whiplash, affecting siting decisions, private investment, and confidence that buildouts will continue on schedule.

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Next in the series: Policy helped create the market for EV charging, but building chargers and running them profitably are two very different things. In Part 3, we look at why the economics of public charging remain so challenging.

About the author: John Gartner has been analyzing and writing about EV infrastructure since 2009. He is the Senior Director at the Center for Sustainable Energy.

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Duracell selects Driivz as software provider for its UK EV charging network

EV software provider Driivz, a Vontier company, has been selected to power the Duracell E-Charge EV charging network across the UK.

The Driivz software platform provides “robust session data, accurate billing and transparent settlements” for charge point operators. The EV Network will use Driivz’s roaming capabilities, as well as real-time monitoring, remote diagnostics and proactive issue resolution.

Driivz’s EV charging software platform is designed to enable optimization of all EV charging operations, including charger monitoring and proactive and remote issue resolution. It includes a configurable billing engine; a white-label charging app and driver web portal; and a reporting and analytics platform.

“Duracell E-Charge is being built to set a new benchmark for ultra-fast charging in the UK. That means high uptime, simple pricing and a consistently reliable experience for drivers,” said Mark Bloxham, Managing Director of The EV Network. “Driivz gives us the platform to scale quickly while maintaining control, performance and commercial efficiency as the network grows.”

Source: Driivz

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Traton secures €850 million for investments in battery-electric trucks and buses

The Traton Group, majority-owned by Volkswagen, has raised a total of €850 million to invest in battery-electric drivetrains.

In 2025, Traton introduced a Green Finance Framework, enabling investors to specifically support projects related to battery-electric commercial vehicles. The company has now completed its first two transactions under this framework, issuing a €500-million green bond and securing a loan of €350 million.

Traton says it will use the “green funds” to accelerate the electric transformation of its brands MAN, Scania, International (USA), and Volkswagen Truck & Bus (Brazil). In the first quarter of 2026, the share of EV sales across all the group’s brands reached 1.4%—a paltry number, but an increase compared to the 0.9% reported in the same quarter of the previous year.

MAN has long offered a battery-electric city bus, the Lion’s City E, and recently launched a line of battery-electric trucks, centered around the eTGX. An electric coach, the Lion’s Coach E, is scheduled to debut this year. Scania recently secured an order for 91 electric public transport buses for in its hometown of Södertälje.

Traton’s CFO, Dr. Michael Jackstein, said: “Our first Green Bond and Loan on Traton level mark a clear milestone in the evolution of our financing strategy. It translates our electrification strategy to the bond and loan markets and provides investors with a transparent and credible opportunity to participate in the transformation of commercial transport. Both transactions clearly demonstrate that green finance and industrial transformation go hand in hand at Traton.”

Meanwhile, Traton, along with Daimler Truck and Volvo Truck, continues lobbying to weaken emissions standards in the US and Europe. The companies recently filed a motion through the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association to defend the Trump EPA’s repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding and the repeal of all motor vehicle climate standards.

Source: Electrive

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Webinar: Why axial flux motors are powering the hybrid shift

This transformation is occurring globally, and axial flux technology is the answer.

Across on-highway, off-highway, marine, and industrial equipment sectors, the path to decarbonization is rarely linear. Real-world duty cycles, infrastructure limitations, cost pressures, and regulatory diversity mean that a single powertrain solution cannot meet every operational need. Hybrid systems have emerged not as an interim compromise but as a durable and scalable architecture for the future of mobility and work machines.

Join this webinar where experts from Turntide Technologies discuss the hybrid transformation and how axial flux motors are the X-factor for smart and efficient systems.

Register now. It’s free!
May 19, 2026 11:00 AM ET

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In Costa Rica, Chinese EVs are squeezing out US and European brands

As US and European automakers struggle to stall the EV transition, the countries described by the automotive media as “Rest of World” are increasingly choosing Chinese EVs. Electric vehicle sales in Latin America, Africa and much of Asia grew by 48 percent in 2025, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

The latest country to hit the headlines for its growing EV parc is Costa Rica. The New York Times reports that EVs accounted for 18 percent of new car sales in Costa Rica during Q1 2026, a market-share figure that’s second only to Uruguay in Latin America, and three times the number in the US.

In Costa Rica and other developing-world EV hot spots, electrification is not the politically divisive issue that it is in the US. Costa Rica’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, generally described as a right-wing populist, refused to ratify the 2018 Escazú environmental treaty, and has encouraged the expansion of his mining and oil drilling. However, he is expected to sign pending legislation to encourage the construction of EV charging stations.

Costa Rica, which is famous for its ecotourism industry, began encouraging adoption of EVs in 2018 by exempting them from taxes and fees. However, a recent poll by EV advocacy group Asomove found that 70 percent of respondents were driving electric to save money, not the environment.

Costa Rican car buyers can choose from a huge selection of Chinese brands, including BYD, Geely, MG and dozens of others. At least three electric models are available for less than $20,000. Imported Chinese cars (including EVs, hybrids and fossil-burners) account for more than a third of the Costa Rican car market, according to car dealership chain Grupo Purdy. Toyota remains the most popular brand, but its market share is sliding. Teslas are scarcely to be seen.

Charger compatibility issues are emerging as a roadblock. Some Chinese EVs are shipped with Chinese-standard connectors that require adapters to work with the CCS chargers used in the US and Europe. One EV driver told the Times that he was happy to see multiple public EV chargers along a busy route that connects San José to the Pacific coast, but puzzled that the plugs were designed for European models that few Costa Ricans buy.

It’s not only passenger cars that are electrifying. Costa Rican grocery chain Auto Mercado told the Times that it has cut the cost of making deliveries by 5 to 10 percent since switching to electric vans from BYD and Maxus, a division of Chinese automaker SAIC.

Biusa, a private bus company, is replacing its entire 60-bus fleet with battery-powered models made by King Long, a Chinese brand. The electric models cost $50,000 more than legacy diesels, but the company expects to quickly recoup the difference in fuel and maintenance savings. A Biusa executive told the Times that ridership has increased because passengers like the quiet ride and superior air-conditioning.

Source: New York Times
Image: TECHNOLOGY FACTORY – stock.adobe.com

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Fluke’s FEV500 acts as a virtual EV to test DC fast chargers, replacing three separate instruments

One in five DC fast charging stations in the US isn’t operational, according to a Harvard Business School study that Fluke cites as the impetus for its new product. The FEV500 is an all-in-one testing tool for Level 3 DC fast charging stations that simulates the role of an electric vehicle—letting technicians run comprehensive safety, communication, and interoperability checks without bringing an actual EV to site.

That last part is the crux of why DC fast charger testing is more complicated than testing AC equipment. Level 3 stations don’t just push current—they negotiate a full digital handshake with the vehicle before a session begins. The FEV500 supports ISO 15118 and DIN SPEC 70121, the two main international standards governing EV-to-EVSE communication, so it can validate the protocol stack, not just basic electrical parameters. It also consolidates what would otherwise require three separate instruments: a digital multimeter, an insulation tester, and an oscilloscope.

The tool works through a single connection point with no disassembly required. It delivers PASS/FAIL results via guided workflows designed for field technicians without advanced training—auto-test sequences reduce manual input and test data logs directly to the device. Fluke says it can cover commissioning, maintenance, and troubleshooting from the same interface.

The chassis is built for field use: a rugged wheeled design for moving between depots and sites, plus a removable battery for air travel.

“Fast DC charging is the backbone of the EV transition, but the truth is, reliability is still the industry’s weakest link,” said Theo Brillhart, Technology Director at Fluke. “We built the FEV500 to close that gap.”

The FEV500 is available now.

Source: Fluke Corporation

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Investors start to question Daimler Truck’s anti-EV stance

As regular Charged readers know, most of the legacy auto and truck OEMs follow a dualistic approach when it comes to EVs. When speaking to pro-EV media outlets, they tout their newest electric models, and wax poetic about sustainability. Away from the headlines, they lobby, litigate and maneuver to slow down the EV transition.

At Daimler Truck’s recent annual general meeting, a group of activist investors challenged this strategy. The Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany presented a countermotion that raised concerns that the company’s lobbying against climate regulations “jeopardizes progress in Daimler’s most important market [the US] and threatens global electrification efforts and the competitiveness of the enterprise.”

At the meeting, the gadflies highlighted the recent start of Tesla Semi mass production in the US and the advent of Chinese EV manufacturers in Europe. Daimler execs gave evasive or non sequitur answers. “We do not currently see Tesla as a relevant competitor in the European electric truck market,” said one. (But what about the US market?) Another said, “If the customer does not want it, then one must accept that there are only limited options.” (But regulations like the Endangerment Finding, which Daimler and other OEMs are helping to dismantle, are intended to create customer demand.)

The activist investors aren’t talking climate change, they’re talking dollars and cents: Daimler Truck’s 2025 financial results show a 34% plummet in profit compared to the previous year, and a 26% slide in sales in North America. Daimler controls over 38% of the US diesel truck market—the biggest share of any manufacturer—but just 18.9% of the electric truck market. 

The Tesla Semi, which recently began volume production in the US, is already stealing customers from Daimler. In the latest round of applications for California’s vouchers for Class 8 tractors, covering January 2025-February 2026, the Tesla Semi received 90% of the applications (965 of 1,067), while Daimler, PACCAR (Peterbilt and Kenworth) and Volvo combined received fewer than 100 applications. This represents a turnaround from 2024, when 61% of the funding went to buy trucks from legacy manufacturers such as Daimler.

Investors questioned Daimler about its “aggressive steps to slow down or reverse regulatory controls in the US to accelerate the transition to cleaner trucks.”

These include:

• Suing California to block to block the state from enforcing truck emissions standards.
• Intervening on the side of the Trump administration against a lawsuit aiming to protect the EPA’s Endangerment Finding, a policy that underpins US air pollution law. 
• Publicly supporting the repeal of the Endangerment Finding. 
• Lobbying the EU to weaken rules on CO₂ emissions, which the EU member states  recently signed off on. 

In 2025, Daimler Truck CEO Karin Radstrom said, “We are the heavy-duty diesel champ!” and unveiled a new strategy that pivots away from electric trucks.

Unsurprisingly, environmental groups have made some scathing comments about Daimler’s anti-EV strategy. (To be fair, such remarks could apply to a greater or lesser extent to just about any of the US, European or Japanese OEMs.)

“It is a masterpiece of strategic incoherence to pledge carbon neutrality in a press release while your lawyers argue in court that no climate action should be required,” said Craig Segall, a former exec at the California Air Resources Board. “While Daimler fights for diesel, its own US electric market share is slipping and competitors are already on the road winning on economics.”

“Weakening regulation while trying to scale electric trucks competitively is a contradiction. Investors are right to ask whether prioritizing short-term diesel profits over long-term success risks undermining the transition, the company’s competitiveness, and ultimately the future of its workforce,” said Merlin Jonack, Project Lead Heavy-Duty Vehicle Decarbonisation, NABU Germany.

“With Chinese OEMs entering the EU market this year, the luxury of ‘wait and see’ has expired. Daimler leads the race to electrification in Europe today, and slowing down now is not an option,” said Stef Cornelis, Fleets and Freight director at Transport & Environment. “Any weakening of transition goals would be a self-inflicted wound.”

“Daimler is acting like a dinosaur in a digital age, clinging to a legacy business model while the meteor grows ever closer,” said former Daimler Truck exec Rustam Kocher. “By starving its electric transition of necessary resources and lobbying aggressively against the regulations that incentivize adoption, the company is leaving the door wide open for Tesla and other electric entrants to seize its throne.”

“Daimler’s recent anti-climate lobbying surpasses even many of the largest global emitters, including many oil majors, in its ambition to completely stop the US government from regulating greenhouse gases,” said Leo Menninger, Analyst at InfluenceMap.

Sources: The Sunrise Project, Idle Giants

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