How long does it take to charge an electric car?

Rapid charging

On paper, this is by far the fastest way of topping up the batteries in your EV, with some chargers able to deliver a significant injection of energy within just 20 minutes. Charging at anything from 50kW to up to 350kW, these units are usually found at motorway service stations and dedicated charging hubs. You’ll need a car that can handle this type of DC charging, and for best results you’ll only charge up to 80 percent of the battery’s capacity, because beyond this point the rate of charge slows significantly to protect the cells from the high temperatures involved in such high electrical currents. 

Of course to make use of this capability you’ll need a car with a charging system that can accept rapid charging. Most entry-level models are available with an optional upgrade that allows DC charging of up to 100kW, while more expensive models such as the Tesla Model 3 and Model S can charge at a rate of 250kW. Some variants of the Porsche Taycan and closely related Audi e-tron GT use an 800 volt electrical system that can handle up to 270kW, as do the the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, which can accept charge at up to 200kW. And when Lucid Motors Air goes on sale next year it will be able to charge at up to  300kW.

To give an idea of speed, a 40kW Nissan Leaf using a 50kW charger (currently the most popular in the UK, but more 150 and 350kW units are coming on stream all the time) can be charged to 80 percent of its capacity in as little as an hour, which is around the same time it takes to charge a 75kWh Tesla using a 150kW charger. On a 350kW charger the Taycan takes just over 22 minutes to go from five to 80 percent charge.

However, bear in mind that regardless of the power of the charger itself, your car will only be able to charge at the maximum rate of its onboard system. So a Leaf with a 50kW charging capability will receive current at this rate even when plugged into a 350kW charger. 

What is top-up charging?

This is the method that most EV drivers take advantage of, which is to plug in and charge whenever you get an opportunity, usually at a public charger on the street or in the supermarket car park. So rather than waiting for the battery to run flat completely, it’s actually easier and quicker to simply keep the cells topped-up, which means you’ll usually have plenty of charge and so rarely suffer from range anxiety. Owners usually combine this technique with a full charge overnight using a domestic slow or rapid charger.

How much range do you get per hour of charging?

As you’d expect, the answer to this depends on the charger you’re using, and to a lesser extent your car (not all are capable of rapid charging). However, as a guide you can expect a standard 3kW slow charger to add 10 miles of range after an hour. Step up to a fast charger with a delivery of 7kW, which is the rate most domestic wallboxes charge at, and after 60 minutes you’ll have added up to 30 miles. By contrast, a 50kW rapid charger can theoretically add 175 miles of range in this time - although you’ll need a large battery to achieve this, as with smaller units you’ll be getting into the last 20 percent of capacity when charging slows. It’s a similar case with 150kW chargers, but as an indication of how effective they are, you can add 100 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes.

Factors that affect charging speed

There are a number of factors that can have an influence on charging speed, particularly when it comes to a full charge. For starters there’s the size of the battery, with the larger the capacity the longer it takes to be replenished.

Then there’s the amount of charge that’s already in the battery, with the first 80 percent of capacity being filled much more quickly than the last 20 percent - this is when the charging rate slows considerably, especially on fast or rapid chargers.