Is California’s goal of 1M electric vehicle chargers realistic?

California is mandating that car makers ramp up their electric vehicle production in the next decade. But experts are worried we won’t have enough electric vehicle charging stations.

In March 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state had more than 100,000 public and shared private EV chargers.

AB 2127 projects that in 2030, the state will need 1.01 million chargers for 7 million electric vehicles. The law also estimated that by 2035, 2.11 million chargers will be needed to support 15.2 million EVs.

Some, however, believe that the goal may be out of reach. Bruce Cain, a professor at Stanford University, is one of them.

“It is very unlikely that we will hit our goals, and to be completely frank, the EV goals are a noble aspiration, but unrealistic,” he told CalMatters .

Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel also told CalMatters in the same report that the state is “way behind where we need to be.”

Another concern is that people won’t buy an EV if they don’t think they’ll have a place to charge one. That’s what one man told KNX News’ Jon Baird.

“I guess when they get some more charging stations…but that’s the problem,” he said.

Another issue for people not buying EVs is the cost. According to Kelley Blue Book , in June 2024 the average transactional price for electric cars was $56,371

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