All we need are faster chargers everywhere..
I don't think this is an issue anymore (it definitely was). I would prefer to see more focus on that "everywhere" part than that "faster" part. At some point, peak power fetish surpassed the range fetish. Some years ago, everyone asked how long can you drive on one charge, and manufacturers advertised that number. A few years later key marketing figure seems to be fast charging speeds, sometimes ridiculously high like over 200kW.
To me, charging power is more like "nice-to-have" feature. If I had to choose between 25% larger battery capacity vs. 100% higher charging speed, my choice would be 25% larger battery capacity. Also because from battery viewpoint, 25% larger battery gives 25% higher charging speed "for free" (if we fix the amount of damage we accept to the battery per charge). And because if I have an EV with driving range of 500km it is
significantly less likely that I need to almost ever fast charge than if I have one with range of 400km. It's a really significant difference.
And because 25% larger battery gives 25% improvement in battery efficiency and cold performance, and 25% less heat generated during charge. In other words - if a 40kWh pack charges at max 20kW at -10degC, a 50kWh pack charges at max 25kW at same -10degC, without having to spend a single Joule to stuff like intelligent battery preheating.
So in my opinion, it all starts from maximizing the energy storage. Stuff like higher speed charging, smart pre-heating, active thermal management etc. is very useful but should be complementary.
We have
a lot of 150kW capable quick charge stations basically on every corner nowadays, they have popped up like mushrooms after rain in last 2-3 years. Yet it is still normal to see long queues on them when everybody happens to want to charge at the same time at the exact same hotspot, many with their 40-60kWh batteries. If everybody had at least 70kWh, one tenth of quick charger capacity would probably suffice. I mean both number of chargers and their power.
This extra capacity also allows people not to charge every night but e.g. choose cheap charging hours if variable pricing is available to them. And it makes the battery last for the 500 000km or so, unlike those small poor 40kWh-ish packs quick charged at 75kW on every trip, eating many% for stuff like pre-heating while waiting in line to get to the charger which you can't choose to skip...
So yes, improvements in battery energy density and $/kWh are still IMHO the factor #1. Even though both are already pretty excellent now if you look 10 years back.