Electric vehicle sales have been a mixed bag in the U.S. over the past few years, but one trend has held steady throughout: The driving range of new electric cars is now better than ever, and fast-charging times are rapidly improving. According to Volvo, drivers now need to think differently about how quick their fast-charging stop really needs to be.
“We have discovered a new phenomenon,” Anders Bell, the chief engineering and technology officer at Volvo Cars, told reporters at the U.S. debut of the EX60 in New York City. “It's called hot dog anxiety, which replaces range anxiety,” he added.
For the record, there's nothing wrong with the culinary appeal of hot dogs. Instead, Bell was referring to drivers going to get a bite to eat, staying longer than their car needs to actually charge, and overspending on charging because of it.
Photo by: Volvo
The lack of fast and ubiquitous charging options has long been a frustration for EV drivers. But public fast-charging networks are expanding rapidly in the U.S., with higher-powered stations becoming increasingly common. Newer EVs with 800-volt architectures also get charging speeds that would have seemed outlandish just a few years ago.
