How a Two-Year-Old Charging Network Outscored Tesla, and Why Plug-In Drivers Should Watch the Fine Print

This month's J.D. Power public charging report delivered a real upset: IONNA, a fast-charging network barely 20 months old, outscored every rival ranked, Tesla's Superchargers included. Public fast charging is getting more dependable across the board. Yet the same study hides a warning for the millions who plug in away from a fast charger.

The Network Built by the Carmakers Themselves

IONNA is no startup or oil-company side project. Seven automakers own it, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Toyota, who tired of watching charging frustrate their customers and built their own network. It energized its first chargers in December 2024, and less than two years later it runs roughly 150 stations with about 1,375 charging ports. In the 2026 J.D. Power public charging study, released August 12, it took the top spot for DC fast charging with 807 points out of 1,000, ahead of the Mercedes-Benz and Rivian networks and above the Tesla Superchargers that had long set the segment's benchmark.

How does a latecomer win? By repeating no one's mistakes. IONNA built what it calls rechargeries, sites with canopies over the stalls, restrooms, and food nearby, and the study rewards the instinct: chargers at hotels, restaurants, and convenience stores scored highest, while lonely stalls in parking lots and at dealerships ranked lowest. Its cables carry both the CCS and NACS connectors, so almost any brand can pull in, and its base discounts need no subscription. For a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), which refuels only by plugging in, a strong new network like this lands on daily life at once.

The Number That Went the Other Way

Dig past the headline and the same report carries a split screen. DC fast charging satisfaction climbed to 666, up 12 points in a year, with every one of the study's ten measures improving and charger availability jumping 27 points; failed charging visits fell to their lowest level since the survey began in 2021. But Level 2 public charging, the slower kind found at workplaces, shopping centers, and street posts, went the opposite way, sliding 12 points to 595. The fast lane is pulling ahead while the slow lane falls behind.

That divergence lands hardest on one driver in particular. A Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) is really two vehicles in one body, a small battery for the daily electric miles and a gasoline engine for everything past them, and that split shapes how its owner meets the news. Such a driver rarely needs a DC fast charger, so the celebrated fast-charging gains are a bonus they seldom collect, while the Level 2 slide touches the exact public charging they use on an errand or a workday. Yet because the engine is always waiting, a slow or busy Level 2 post is a minor annoyance, never a stranding. The plug-in owner reads the whole report with less riding on it than anyone. For the driver of an HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), none of it registers, since the car has no charge port and never visits a public station. An Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV) uses these same networks as any battery car would, yet its onboard generator waits in reserve, turning a broken or crowded charger into an inconvenience rather than a dead end.

The Buildout Behind the Rankings

The scores are rising partly because the network keeps growing. The federal NEVI program, which was paused in early 2025 and relaunched with looser siting rules that August, is finally putting steel in the ground: its $5 billion flows to the states, covering up to 80 percent of each project, and states from Oregon and Washington to Colorado, Arizona, and Minnesota are energizing their first corridors this year. Nationwide, public charging passed roughly 81,000 stations and 250,000 ports by late 2025, and forecasters expect close to 100,000 fast-charging ports running by 2027.

IONNA is only the loudest example of the private push behind those totals. It has nearly 1,500 more bays under construction and a stated goal of 30,000 by 2030, and its rivals are racing on the same track. The important shift is what they now compete on. For years the contest was simply who had the most plugs; the 2026 numbers show it has become who runs the most reliable and pleasant ones, a better race for drivers to have the industry fight.

The direction is set: fast charging keeps improving as carmaker-owned networks and the revived federal buildout add capacity. What would have to change for the gains to reach everyone is the slow lane. The Level 2 charging that apartment dwellers and plug-in owners depend on has to stop sliding, and next year's study is the place to watch for it. If Level 2 satisfaction turns back upward while fast charging keeps climbing, public charging will finally be improving for the whole market rather than just the road-trippers. Until it does, the plug-in driver keeps a quiet edge, free to enjoy every gain and shrug off every gap.

Sources

• Electrek, IONNA Tops Every Major EV Fast-Charging Network - electrek.co
• J.D. Power, 2026 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Public Charging Study - jdpower.com
• InsideEVs, IONNA Network Milestone, Pricing, and Discounts - insideevs.com
• GreenCars, NEVI Charging Network Reboots in 2026 - greencars.com