This year marks an important anniversary in electric vehicle (EV) technology: the tenth anniversary of the first supercharger station opened by Tesla in Los Angeles in September 2012. Although, a decade has passed, the availability of quick and convenient charging is still cause for concern for many prospective customers. According to the US Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center, there are currently 46,000 public EV charging stations in the US, with more than 13,000 of them in California.  However, thousands more are needed to respond to the increase in EV demand and the industry’s shift away from internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

“With any new technology naturally comes an adoption curve,” points out Qiong Sun, Vice President of TE Connectivity’s Global E-mobility Solutions business. In the case of EV adoption, while there are distinct barriers acting as speed bumps, there are also many reasons for its recent acceleration. Sun explains that the industry is working to deliver new innovations around improved charging capabilities and performance to overcome the remaining barriers to EV adoption.

“Most automotive consumers, whether in the market for an ICE or an EV, generally look for a combination of safety, reliability, creature comfort, and performance,” says Sun. Prospective EV customers have an additional factor…