Utilities predict widespread EV adoption by 2035

By David Ferris | 10/03/2024 06:40 AM EDT

A new report estimates the U.S. will need 42 million charging stations to accommodate a seventeenfold increase in its electric vehicle fleet.

Electric vehicles recharge at a shopping center.

Electric vehicles recharge at a shopping center in Emeryville, California. Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP

Electric vehicles will make up more than a quarter of all American cars on the road a decade from now, according to a new study by electric power companies.

The Edison Electric Institute, a trade group for investor-owned utilities, expects widespread EV adoption despite recent retrenchment by many automakers, who are slow-walking their EV investments amid cooling demand. The group’s report, released Wednesday, projects that 78.5 million EVs will be on U.S. roads in 2035 — and will come with a massive proliferation of charging stations.

That will require more electricity and new infrastructure, costs usually borne by utility ratepayers. In a statement, EEI said its member companies want “to ensure the transition to EVs is done in a cost-effective way.”

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EEI based its “consensus” analysis on forecasts from four independent consulting groups: Guidehouse Insights, Boston Consulting Group, PwC and EY. The forecasts figured in such factors as preferences of the driving public, the declining cost of batteries and government regulations requiring less car pollution.

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