EV Fast Charging Is Growing Up, And Growing Bigger

• DC fast charging (DCFC) stations in the U.S. are getting noticeably larger.
• New data from research firm Paren shows that from January through May, the average number of ports per newly opened station has climbed to 4.7.
• Previously, one to two ports were the norm at fast-charging stations.

Drive an electric vehicle long enough and you know this feeling well. You find a DC fast-charging (DCFC) station on your favorite mapping app, roll up to get some electrons, and then realize that the station only has two plugs—and maybe one of them is some format your car doesn’t even use. 

That’s not a fun day of electric driving. 

Fortunately, that situation is getting better and better, a new report from the charging data firm Paren has found. Its latest study indicates that most new DCFC projects have four to five charging ports on average—4.7, if you want to get technical.

Paren Charger Port Growth Data

Photo by: Paren

“This marks a clear shift from the earlier norm of 1–2 port installations that left drivers frustrated with long wait times and low charger availability,” the Paren report said. And it indicated that this trend is part of the overall growth and maturing of the fast-charging industry, which is quickly learning what works and what doesn’t and avoiding the mistakes of the Charging 1.0 era. 

“Encouragingly, many of the most aggressive adopters of this ‘bigger is better’ model are newer entrants,” the study said. Those players include New York-based rideshare and charging company Revel, Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging, Walmart and Ionna. But Tesla, long the gold standard for charging, continues to lead the way with multi-stall Supercharger stations.

Photo by: Tesla

Even some companies that have been late to multi-port installations are upping their game, Paren’s report said. ChargePoint once averaged 1.5 ports per DCFC project, but now that number is up to 2.3. And by some metrics, the port averages are more like six per charging station.

“That’s a strong indicator of where the rest of the market is headed,” the Paren report said. “All signs point toward a fast-charging landscape dominated by larger, higher-capacity stations. In fact, 82% of all new stations in 2025 so far have three or more ports.”

Once again, EV fast-charging is getting better and better in America, even if that’s not always obvious.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com