The three anxieties that will shape EV charging in 2025

My prediction is that in 2025, the EV industry as a whole will take greater strides toward meeting the evolving demands of drivers. In other words, the desires, expectations, and concerns of EV drivers will matter more than before.

Why?

Because when a new technology or innovative product enters the market, early adopters typically prioritize functionality and problem-solving over aesthetics or user experience. However, as the product diffuses into the mainstream, consumer expectations shift. Mainstream users demand not just solutions but also refinement—products that are user-friendly, feature-rich, and seamlessly integrated into their lives.

As EV adoption accelerates and this larger audience becomes the focal point, "good enough" is simply no longer good enough.

I hope that collaboratively, Zaptec and others in the EV ecosystem will introduce meaningful improvements that address what I believe are the three core anxieties that still trouble EV drivers – Range Anxiety, Payment Anxiety, and Integration Anxiety -- alongside the ever-lingering Green Guilt.

1. Range Anxiety: Will I get there?

While battery capacities and vehicle efficiencies have improved, range anxiety — the fear that a vehicle won’t have enough charge to reach its destination, or even the next available charging station — still persists. Will there be a charger available? Is it working? How far is the next one if this fails? How long will I have to wait for enough range to continue?

This anxiety is heightened in areas where public charging infrastructure is sparse or unreliable, but troubles owners of home chargers as well. Power outages, incorrectly set charging schedules, or simply forgetting to plug in can all contribute to the uncertainty. Even those who charge their vehicle at home, are never truly certain that they’ll wake up tomorrow to a fully-charged vehicle that will take them where they need to go.

2. Payment Anxiety: How much will this cost - the price of uncertainty

For many EV drivers, the payment experience is unnecessarily complex, at home and on the road. It’s as if every charging station has a different pricing model and payment method, turning what should be a straightforward task into a confusing and frustrating challenge. Will I need a new app this time? Why are there three pricing schemes for this charger? Do I have the right RFID card? Why can’t I just pay with Apple Pay?

At home, payment anxiety takes a different form. It’s not about swiping a card but understanding the impact of charging on household electricity bills. Is my tariff optimised for EV charging? Am I eligible for a tax return? Am I paying more than I need to? How do I track charging costs separately from the rest of my energy use? And, increasingly — Am I maximizing the value of my solar energy for charging my car as cheaply as possible?

3. Integration Anxiety: Why can’t it all work together?

It’s already been said more succinctly than I could ever paraphrase: It’s the SYSTEM, stupid! Integration anxiety arises from disconnected systems, and at the intersection of electricity, mobility and energy management - there’s lots to be connected! Embracing the industry standards for seamless integration between EVs, chargers, backend systems, and energy grids is critical for delivering the kind of frictionless experience that drivers expect.

Why doesn’t my car communicate with this charger? Why can’t I pre-book a charging spot? Should my charging schedule be set by my smart home app or by my energy provider? Interestingly, the integration anxiety is particularly potent when it comes to planning for the future; Will my setup still work with a new EV? What will happen if I change my electricity provider? Will this software update disrupt the connections I’ve worked so hard to set up?

And…. Green Guilt

EV driving is not all about cost-saving and practicalities. Often, our customers seek to align their charging habits with their environment values. Just as we consider sustainability in other areas of our lives—like recycling or mindful consumption—EV drivers are increasingly asking: Am I really charging in the greenest way possible? Is my charging energy coming from renewable sources? Could I be doing more to minimize my carbon footprint? What’s the impact of going electric in the first place?

Remember the days when….

If I got you down, cheer up. The Three Anxieties and the Lingering Guilt are not here to stay — they can’t! EV adoption has become far too widespread to allow it, and the pressure from drivers to melt these anxieties away cannot be ignored.

In the spirit of prediction-making (and holiday cheer) - I’m willing to bet that we’re not too far from our “remember the days” moment.

• Remember when we needed a stack of CDs to install Microsoft Office on our computers?
• Remember when renting a movie meant driving to the video store and hoping the DVD wasn’t already checked out?
• Remember when connecting to the internet meant listening to a dial-up tone and hoping no one picked up the phone?
• Remember when we carried a GPS device in the car instead of just using our phone?
• Remember when you couldn’t track your electricity usage in real time and just waited for the bill to arrive in the mail?

Remember the days when EV charging filled us with anxieties?