Word-of-mouth recommendations have officially overtaken traditional navigation tools for electric vehicle drivers, according to new global research released by Driivz.

Drivers are actively turning to peers over traditional navigation tools to combat unreliable infrastructure

The survey, which gathered insights from more than 3,000 EV drivers across North America and Europe, reveals that a ‘social layer’ is now dictating EV charging decisions. Drivers are actively turning to peers over traditional navigation tools to combat unreliable infrastructure, reshaping how they choose where to plug in.

The study highlights that 91% of EV drivers would willingly make a detour to power up at a location recommended by a fellow driver.

Conversely, 76% would avoid a charging network entirely based on a warning from friends or family. More than half (55%) said they’d travel more than five minutes out of their way for a recommended spot.

Shiri Levi-Laor, CEO of Driivz, said charging recommendations are no longer a ‘nice-to-have’, they’re now routing traffic.

“EV charging has become much more than a question of where the nearest charger is located,” she emphasised. “Drivers are no longer just asking ‘where is a charger?’ They’re asking ‘is there a charger I can rely on?’ and increasingly, they’re trusting each other for the answer rather than relying on traditional navigation tools.”

When drivers need to find an unfamiliar charging location, they trust specialist charging apps (33%) and recommendations from EV-driving friends and family (32%) more than satellite navigation and mapping apps (27%).

This reliance on word of mouth indicates that drivers are losing faith in standard map applications, which often fail to report broken plugs, long queues, or poor local amenities.

The split runs deeper than a simple preference. Among drivers who trust specialist apps, 81% don’t also count navigation tools among their most trusted sources, and among those who trust word of mouth, 76% say the same. The findings suggest these are not simply overlapping habits; they’re two distinct sources of charging intelligence operating alongside traditional navigation.

For charge point operators, the research shows that a single session can have ramifications as drivers talk, and increasingly talk in public, trackable ways.

• 79% would warn friends or family after a poor charging experience
• 76% would report the issue directly through a charging app
• 65% would leave an online review

The upside for charge point operators (CPOs) is significant. Drivers are nearly as vocal about good experiences as bad ones: 42% say they’re most likely to talk about a charging session that exceeded expectations, versus 39% who are more likely to talk about one that fell short. Reliability isn’t just about avoiding complaints anymore; it’s a direct lever for earning advocacy.

“Reliable charging experiences build trust, and trust increasingly drives recommendations, reviews and future charging decisions,” Levi-Laor stated. “For operators, that creates a direct line from operational performance to customer loyalty, and ultimately, to long-term network utilization and profitability.”

The findings track closely with Driivz’s 2026 State of EV Charging Network Operators Report, which found operators are already shifting investment toward the fundamentals that drive this kind of trust: 24/7 network availability (47%) and seamless authentication (43%) rank as the top priorities for improving the charging experience.

That shift is changing business logic: 59% of CPOs now say charger utilisation, not expansion, is their primary driver of profitability, compared with just 15% who point to network growth.

The research also surfaced a split in how drivers evaluate their options. Younger drivers are the early adopters of this social layer and are more likely to explore new networks, lean on specialist charging apps and follow peer recommendations. Older drivers, by contrast, tend to stick with networks they’ve already trusted, favouring loyalty over discovery.