I don't think EA problems were deliberate. They had a couple of major issues. First was the fact that they had to get a whole lot of stations up and running with the 1st tranche of money in a very very short time frame (18 months). To accomplish this I believe they were purchasing from 4 different vendors, with a relatively new charging cable type, and trying to integrate in a separate backend for authorization and payment processing. It certainly is a tough systems integration problem.
It is then compounded by the fact that there are different implementations of the protocols on different EVs with different manufacturers. The recent story of the Taycan on the Cannonball run having an issue where it requests 350 kW at the beginning of the session then freaks out when the station delivers it. Or with the latching problem the Bolt has with the heavy cable upon initiation.
I think what happens though is that while other systems have these same systems integration problems, we all learn strategies to manage them. Gas stations have failed pumps. Or handles that won't click. Card readers that don't read. But in general there is someone on site to complain to. There are signals of stations having problems. We just hold the handle that won't click. I feel like as a group we are just learning those same types of strategies for EV charging. Any EA veteran knows to only use the app. Never tap your phone. Never use a credit card. Hold the handle while initiating the charge.
I think both Usain and Eric have pointed out that a failed session should only be declared if the entire site is down and there is no way to get a charge. And while people get annoyed when a session isn't perfect, almost always folks are able to get a charge and continue on.
It's getting to the point where it's the equivalent of: "I took my car to the gas station and one of the pumps had a red bag on it. I'm never going to gas up my car again!"
If possible, every EV salesperson should bring their new EV owner to a DCFC and walk them through the process along with tips for a successful DCFC charge. Part of the problem is that by not explaining the process, including taper, new EV folks equate fast charging to gassing up when they are in fact fundamentally different processes. Second is that because DCFC isn't necessarily required, it may be weeks or months before someone tries their first DCFC session leading to the "I'll never use them again." syndrome.
Part of this is on EA, EVGo, Chargepoint, and Greenlots. But honestly it should fall to EV salespeople to assist in that training. No one would just give a teenager a car and go "here you go, now scoot!" We should remember that many aspects of EV operation are new and different than the regular ICE driving experience, including charging.
ga2500ev
