It will take a few years to tell whether the "EV movement" here has staying power.

Generous federal and state tax credits have spurred EV sales in Hawaii at a significantly faster rate than on the mainland. And the state’s Energy Office has pushed hard to make sure Hawaii has the highest number of charging stations per capita in the nation.

But there are a number of challenges in the effort to get more EVs on Hawaii’s highways, said state Rep. K. Mark Takai (D, Newtown-Pearl City), an early supporter of electric vehicles in Hawaii. He noted that the state’s goal is to boost the number of EVs from about 500 today to 10,000 by 2015.

The loss of a $4,500 state rebate for EV buyers in Hawaii likely will dampen sales, he said. And the initial wave of 210 charging stations installed across the state using federal stimulus money will have to be expanded to encourage continued EV purchases.

The state also will need to look at supporting the installation of Level 3, high-voltage chargers that can fill an EV battery in 30 minutes instead of the four to six hours it takes on a Level 2 charger, according to Takai.

Worries about being able to find a charging station, also known as "range anxiety," was a major issue for two of the three Star-Advertiser reporters who test-drove EVs last week. The three reporters, who drove a Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and Mitsu­bi­shi i-MiEV, sum up their experiences below.