Critics say the disparities hinder widespread adoption of electric vehicles, complicating plugging in.
“It’s like if you could only get gas for your Subaru at Sunoco stations and nowhere else,” said clean transportation advocate Chelsea Sexton. “Who would buy that car?” Yet automakers say they have no interest in developing uniform charging standards and dismiss the implication that different plugs could be slowing sector growth. Instead, many are racing to build out fast-charging infrastructure that fits their cars before new models are released in 2018.