As the Biden administration prepares to give states $7.5 billion for new charging stations, a similar recent effort suggests a difficult path is ahead. States received $424 million that could be used for charging stations as part of a $2.8 billion settlement by Volkswagen AG VOW -0.33%? to resolve allegations that it cheated on diesel emissions tests. So far, more than four years later, they have spent about 48% of those charging dollars.

Six states including Illinois and Connecticut that say they plan to use VW settlement money on chargers have yet to disburse any funds. Four states say they plan to use the money for other projects such as lower-emissions bus fleets, according to data from Atlas Public Policy, a Washington, D.C., research firm that tracks the electric-vehicle industry. Thirty states have distributed most of their available charging money, including Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota and New York.