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An electric car owner prepares to charge his car at an electric car charging station EV charging

Did the Election Just Make Owning an EV Much Easier?

The Presidential election has dominated everything for the past few months, and for good reason. Whoever sits in the Oval Office is widely accepted as the most powerful person in the world. A person doesn’t get such a serious moniker without having the ability to change things. While the EV market has been mostly booming, …

The Presidential election has dominated everything for the past few months, and for good reason. Whoever sits in the Oval Office is widely accepted as the most powerful person in the world. A person doesn’t get such a serious moniker without having the ability to change things. While the EV market has been mostly booming, there is still a big push for infrastructure that is needed in this country. Joe Biden’s plan to add more EV charging stations may mean big changes in the marketplace. 

The climate crisis demands a bigger push for EVs

Unless you live in a big city or wealthy suburb, finding a charging station for your EV can become quite a hassle. Gear Patrol laid out the Biden/Harris plan to add half-a-million EV charging stations to the U.S. This initiative should help alleviate one of the major stresses that keep many people from buying EVs. 

An electric car owner prepares to charge his car at an electric car charging station EV charging
Charging station | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Without charging infrastructure, the EV market can’t grow the way it should

The Biden plan reads, “There are now one million electric vehicles on the road in the United States, but a key barrier to further deployment of these greenhouse-gas reducing vehicles is the lack of charging stations and coordination across all levels of government. As President, Biden will work with our nation’s governors and mayors to support the deployment of more than 500,000 new public charging outlets by the end of 2030.”

There are still too many problems that need addressing on EV charging. Gear Patrol notes that the US Department of Energy says there is only 27,329 electric vehicle charging stations currently available around the country. They go on to say that if every charging station, like a gas station, had an average of four individual charging outlets, then that would raise the figure up to about 125,000, which is nearing the number of gas stations. 

The first charging station for electric cars and electric bicycles is built in the new Hanau residential area "Pioneer Park" on the site of a former US barracks EV charging
The first charging station for electric cars and electric bicycles on the site of a former US barracks | Arne Dedert/picture alliance via Getty Images

What about the costs of buying and owning an EV?

Joe Biden’s plan clearly states that he plans to keep the EV tax credit and potentially even expand it. Although the EV tax credit currently exists, President Trump has tried to give it the ax several times, but bipartisan support for the tax credit kept it afloat. Either way, it is clear to see that the Biden/Harris administration plans to invest in the ease of ownership of EVs.

Where might some of these new EV charging stations be?

The fast-food burger slinger, McDonald’s, is making moves to support the EV wave. Across Sweden, McDonald’s has 55 charging stations currently. While you enjoy your sweet McDonald’s breakfast burrito, you can also be gassing (charging) up the ride. 

The fast-food eatery isn’t the only place you can see EV charging stations start to pop up; the Nürburgring also has EV charging stations now. If they aren’t at most tracks already, I feel positive that wave is coming and coming fast. 

The changing percentage of angry EV drivers

When McDonald’s conducted a study, finding that 48% of EV drivers still struggle to find charging stations. The scarcity of chargers and the limited range of EVs have been the two biggest contributors to EV anxiety.

EV range is getting swiftly dealt with by Tesla and Lucid, both having cars that can top 500 miles on a full charge. Soon those numbers should be more common across the cheaper EVs, with any luck. And, if Joe Biden’s plan can incorporate enough charging stations to make them as plentiful as traditional gas stations, then we should be in pretty good shape for a true boom in the EV market.

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