EVgo, one of the nation’s largest public fast charging networks for electric vehicles (EVs), announced significant progress in network enhancements made through EVgo ReNew, its comprehensive maintenance program focused on bolstering reliability and elevating the customer experience. The ReNew program consists of six pillars that outline the company’s approach to reliability: resilience, prevention, diagnostics, rapid response, analysis, and continuous customer service.

Focusing on overall network performance and the holistic customer experience, EVgo has accomplished the following in the different pillars of the ReNew program:

Resilience

• ReNewed Equipment: In the first two quarters of the year, EVgo upgraded, replaced, or decommissioned legacy equipment at more than 120 stalls in key markets across the US, bringing its cumulative total to more than 350 DCFC stalls nationally since the start of 2022.

• Focus on High Power: Nearly all EVgo stations operationalized year to date in 2023 feature high-power 350kW fast chargers to satisfy customer demand and future proof the network.

• Bigger Stations: 95% of all new stations include at least four fast charging stalls, with more than 40% of stations under construction featuring 6+ stalls.

• Streamlined Payment: Added eight new EV models to Autocharge+ in the last year, expanding the program to 30 eligible vehicle models.

Prevention and Diagnostics

• Preventative Maintenance: Performed annual preventative maintenance and health checks on more than 1,500 stalls since the start of 2022.

• Investment in Diagnostics Capabilities: Implemented new tools that help predict potential issues to inform preventative maintenance cycles.

• Extensive Vehicle Interoperability Testing: In the first half of 2023, the team at the EVgo Innovation Lab performed first-time interoperability testing on 14 EV models. This continued focus on vehicle interoperability testing is critical to ensuring a flawless “handshake” between the vehicle and available charging equipment, and the delivery of a seamless customer experience.

Rapid Response and Analysis

• Reduced Repair Times by Half: EVgo has cut the average station repair time in half over the last 12 months.

• Advanced Inventory Management: New inventory management system has been established to increase the supply of high-use replacement components, such as charging cables, to further expedite repair timelines.

Continuous Customer Service

• Increased Customer Care Staffing: As utilization and charging sessions continue to increase on the EVgo network, EVgo made significant additions to its 24/7 EVgo Charging Crew to assist customers with questions about their EV, account status, payment options, charging and more, including staff with bilingual capabilities to enable more widespread service.

• Customer Empathy Program: EVgo created a new customer experience initiative—the EVgo Roadrunners—that replicates real customer scenarios in the field to support the development of solutions for common charging issues.

In addition to its work to enhance network uptime through the ReNew program, EVgo is also now tracking “One & Done” success rates, a measure of a driver’s ability to successfully initiate a charging session on the first attempt.

Looking at One & Done rates provides more nuanced insight into the customer experience than a standalone uptime metric and helps EVgo diagnose root causes of unsuccessful charging attempts, whether due to charging equipment, vehicle interoperability, customer education, or other factors. EVgo’s goal is to achieve One & Done success rates of more than 95% by the end of 2023, and already improved six percentage points over the first six months of the year through its investments in ReNew.

Complementary to ReNew are EVgo’s efforts to develop customer education programs, including Charge Talk, a video series focused on answering EV drivers’ biggest EV charging questions, and a new QR code campaign at select stations that links to “charging 101” toolkits with videos and how-to content to help new EV drivers successfully charge for the first time. The company also launched dealership education pilots with two automaker partners to equip dealer staff with resources to support customers purchasing or leasing an EV for the first time.

Drawing from more than a decade of experience deploying fast charging infrastructure, as well as extensive technical expertise from the engineering team at its Innovation Lab, EVgo also released a new best practice guide on charger reliability through its Connect the Watts initiative. The document outlines best practices to address ecosystem-wide issues at the root to solve charger reliability, with a focus on codes and standards improvements, vehicle interoperability and more.