Spatial accessibility of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and adoption rate in the U.S. metropolitan areas

초록

While the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) market broke records in 2022 with approximately 920,000 light EV sales, it still faces many challenges. Charging anxiety is one of the leading concerns for prospective EV buyers. Existing studies have demonstrated that the availability of EV charging infrastructure is positively correlated with EV sales. In EV research, charging availability is typically measured by the density of charging stations or the ratio of EVs to the extent of charging infrastructure (e.g., number of stations or chargers). These measures are simple and straightforward, but the spatial accessibility (e.g., distribution or configuration) of EV charging infrastructure is often disregarded. To fill this knowledge gap, we developed indicators to measure the availability of EV charging infrastructure with respect to spatial accessibility. Subsequently, we assessed their impact on the EV adoption rate in metropolitan areas across the United States. Our findings demonstrate that the spatial accessibility of EV charging infrastructure is statistically associated with the EV adoption rate at the metro level. The results underscore the need for a strategic planning framework that considers not only the quantity of EV charging stations but also their spatial accessibility across the region. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd

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