Key markets in the electric vehicle (EV) transition are falling behind in their goals for public charging infrastructure, according to McKinsey. The data reveals that the U.S., Europe, and the UK are significantly behind the number of charging points needed to meet growing EV demand by 2030. The U.S., the world’s second-largest EV market, has fewer than 200,000 publicly available charging ports, with more than one million additional ports needed by 2030, according to McKinsey. This represents a 550% increase. Europe needs a 5.5-fold increase to meet the European Commission’s 2030 targets, with only 630,000 public charge points currently available across the continent. The UK requires a nearly 350% increase to scale its charge points from just under 70,000 to 300,000 by the end of the decade.

At current installation rates, these EV markets will not be able to adequately support the EV transition, according to McKinsey. Europe, for example, is currently three times behind the annual installation rate needed to meet 2030 targets. Konect, a company in electric vehicle charging established by Gilbarco Veeder-Root, suggests that existing fuel retailers are well-positioned to address this gap due to their strategic locations and amenities.

“At current installation rates, key global EV markets won’t meet the public charging infrastructure needed to meet growing EV demand,” Om Shankar, VP and GM at Konect, said. “We know that most EV drivers currently charge at home, but there is a second group of buyers who do not have the same facilities.”

However, the industry must address key blockers to effective service for fuel retailers to build a reliable and profitable EV charging business. A survey by Konect found that over 71% of charge point operators find recording charge-point downtime challenging, with more than half (57%) citing support from service partners as a major obstacle to improved uptime.