EVwire brief: The US public DC fast-charging network crossed 80,000 ports for the first time in Q3 2026, even as new deployments cooled from the second quarter. Tesla remained the top builder of new ports, but its share of new installs keeps shrinking as Ionna, Walmart and other networks ramp up.
Operators added 4,106 new ports and 664 new stations during the quarter, bringing the national network to 80,964 ports across 14,614 stations, according to Paren's latest State of the EV Charging Industry report. That's down from 4,618 ports in Q2 and 4,663 in Q3 2025, following the same pattern as last year: a slower Q1, a Q2 peak, then a dip in Q3.
Demand kept climbing. Drivers logged 50.4 million fast-charging sessions in Q3, up 26% year-over-year, with July setting a monthly record of 17.6 million. National utilization held at 15.9%, the reliability score stayed at 93.9, and the average price rose to $0.540 per kWh, driven mostly by Tesla.
Tesla added 1,287 new ports, or 31.3% of the quarter's total, rising to 34.4% when counting 124 ports at Supercharger for Business sites. Ionna more than doubled its Q2 rollout to 378 ports, helped by converting former Circle K sites, and jumped from seventh to second ahead of Walmart (344).
Here's how the quarter's additions broke down by network, as per Paren data.
Network | New Ports (Q3) | Share of Q3 Total | All-Time Ports | All-Time Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tesla | 1,287 | 31.3% | 39,952 | 49.3% |
Ionna | 378 | 9.2% | 1,575 | 1.9% |
Walmart | 344 | 8.4% | 964 | 1.2% |
Red E | 202 | 4.9% | 2,174 | 2.7% |
Electrify America | 186 | 4.5% | 5,357 | 6.6% |
ChargePoint | 169 | 4.1% | 4,774 | 5.9% |
Vialynk | 152 | 3.7% | 465 | 0.6% |
EVgo | 136 | 3.3% | 3,997 | 4.9% |
Tesla Supercharger for Business | 124 | 3.0% | 402 | 0.5% |
EVOLV Charging | 94 | 2.3% | 590 | 0.7% |
Other Networks | 1,034 | 25.2% | 20,714 | 25.6% |
TOTAL | 4,106 | 100% | 80,964 | 100% |
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Here are some highlights from Paren's Q3 2026 State of the EV Charging Industry report.
New charging sites keep getting bigger
New non-Tesla sites averaged 5.0 ports in Q3, up from 4.1 a year ago, and sites with just one or two ports now make up under a third of non-Tesla openings, down from nearly half. Electrify America, bp pulse and Vialynk opened the largest non-Tesla sites at 20 ports or more, including Electrify America's biggest site ever at 24 ports.
Tesla's new Supercharger sites averaged 13.1 ports, up from 12.1 in Q2. Tesla opened 11 Superchargers with 24 or more stalls, nearly three times as many as in Q2, led by a 48-stall site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
NACS adoption levels off at about a fifth of new ports
Non-Tesla networks installed 677 NACS ports in Q3, 23% of new non-Tesla connectors. That's essentially flat against Q2 (22%) and Q1 (21%), after more than doubling from 9% in Q3 2025. CCS still dominates new builds at 74%, and NACS accounts for just 9% of the installed non-Tesla base (4,801 of 51,480 ports).
NACS-only stations are starting to show up, though. Ionna opened its first ones in Lancaster and Perris, California, with four ports each, while Rivian opened three NACS-only stations in Tampa and West Melbourne, Florida, and Englewood, Colorado.
High-power charging hits another record
Including Tesla, 73% of new ports installed in Q3 are rated at 250 kW or more, up from 69% in Q2 and 60% a year ago. The 400 kW-and-above tier is now the fastest-growing: 35% of new non-Tesla ports hit that mark, up from 10% a year ago, making it the largest power tier outside Tesla.
Tesla contributed 303 of those 400+ kW ports from 26 new sites equipped with its 500 kW V4 cabinets. Tesla now has 42 sites with 487 ports rated at 500 kW.
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Context:
Tom Moloughney, host of the State Of Charge YouTube channel and owner of EVChargingStations.com, wrote this edition's guest perspective. He argued that the industry's next step is making public charging something drivers no longer have to think about:
I'm optimistic because I've seen the industry address many of the problems that plagued the early adopters. Higher-power chargers, larger locations, and more competition are gradually removing charger anxiety. The next opportunity is to turn that progress into something drivers can take for granted: arriving, plugging in, and getting on with their day without angst.
Geographically, California led all states with 87 new stations, about one in eight of the quarter's total, though that was down from 128 in Q2. Texas rose to 66 stations from 54, followed by North Carolina and Georgia at 26 each. California, Texas, Illinois, Florida and New York together drove roughly 42% of Q3 openings, and about 90% of new stations landed in urban markets.
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