Thousands of new EV charging stations have appeared online across the US over the past year, but over half of Americans say they are not yet ready to buy an electric vehicle. What are their biggest concerns? Compared to cars with gasoline, they still have inadequate public chargers and higher purchase prices.
These are some of the insights from the newly released SBD EV Index 2025 here. This is a joint effort by technology, location data and digital mapping company and global automotive research company SBD Automotive. Now in its third year, the report assesses the status of EV infrastructure in the US and Europe.
SBD principal Robert Fisher wrote in the report that “current efforts are not sufficient to meet electrification ambitions in most regions, highlighting the need for stronger policies and more proactive product strategies.”
This year’s edition goes beyond infrastructure metrics. To understand how consumers perceive the EV landscape, businesses surveyed 1,000 drivers in the US and 1,000 in Europe. Among the survey results:
What we and EU consumers think about EVs
The gap in EV attitudes between Americans and Europeans may stem from many factors, but one of the most important is infrastructure. Last year, European countries added 245,000 public claim points. This is about 10,000 more than the total charging points for the 19%, or 37,000 new charging points.
Despite the wider European network, the US is based on charging speeds. Several states have invested heavily in fast charging technology, helping to raise the rankings here-SBDEV index. Alabama, for example, has surged from 31st in 2023 to 13th this year, mainly due to rapid chargers.
How all states are ranked based on 2025 EV index
Still, the Northeast is the most welcome region for both current and future EV drivers. Here – Five top score areas, Delaware, Washington, DC, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, lead the country in EV Readiness, according to the SBD EV Index. Their rankings are based on four important metrics:
◾ How far do you need to drive to find the charger: Number of public EV chargers per road length.
◾ How quickly can you claim: Average power capacity of a public EV charger.
◾ Number of EVs and Gas-powered Vehicles: EV fleet share.
◾ Possibility to find an empty charger: The ratio of public chargers to registered EVs.
Delaware once again claimed the top spot of the index. The state doesn’t lead in any category, but it ranks at the top of all metrics. It was one of the top five in the EV fleet shares, earning 23 of the 25 points. Only the charger to EV ratio is in the center of the pack.
Kentucky has made one of its biggest leaps (up from 45th on the 28th) thanks to a surge in the installation of powerful chargers. Iowa and New Mexico are also making great profits, each adding over 300 new public interest points.
How has the state’s EV rankings changed since 2023?
In Europe, northern countries continue to lead the continent in EV adoption, according to the 2025 Here – SBD EV index.
◾ Top 5, order: Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium.
◾ New No.1: Norway has overtaken Denmark in a top spot driven by a high share of the EV fleet. It is an electric vehicle with a total of 857,855 vehicles on the road.
◾ Most Improved: Latvia and Lithuania have climbed to the ranking thanks to profits from average charger power.
◾ Reduction: Slovenia, Bulgaria and Switzerland fell into the rankings as the average charger power fell compared to other countries.
