From BMW and Volvo to Xpeng and Denza, these cars offer the most powerful charging around, all the way up to 1,500kW
Of all the biggest shifts in the EV world over the last few years, there are two key areas.
The first is range. We’ve gone from being impressed by 200 miles to demanding 400 or even 500 in just a few years.
The second is charging power. Arguably, how quickly your car can recharge is every bit as important as how far it goes between charges. And, here the tech has grown perhaps even more impressively.
Recent months have seen Geely reveal tech that will charge at a mindblowing 2.25mW – that’s 10 times faster than a Polestar 2 from just a couple of years ago. Elsewhere, we’ve got promises of 1,400kW or 1,500kW charging from the likes of Chery and BYD.
Those bring claims of 10-80% top-ups in under five minutes. But virtually all of those cars and chargers to support them are only available in China for the moment. So while the Zeekr Z01 is technically the fastest charging EV in the world right now, we want to focus on cars our readers can actually buy.
Charging time will depend on a car’s battery size, charging power and how long it can sustain that power, but to keep things simple we’ve stuck with stated peak DC charging as a measure of charging speed.
So here’s a list of the fastest charging electric cars on sale in the UK right now.
At the lower end of the super-fast charging table (if that makes sense), there is a bit of congestion. So to kick off, we’ve got a three-way tie.
Porsche and Audi’s closely related four-door grand tourers are high-end, high-power, high-price machines that will top their 97kWh “performance” battery from 10-80% in just 18 minutes and look damn cool while doing it. The Mercedes CLA in contrast, is a far more accessible mainstream saloon that showcases Merc’s latest 800V technology.
Designed for the up-and-coming executive, it’s all about long ranges and short charging times, with up to 480 miles of range and a 10-80% time of just 22 minutes.
Another multiple-tie-up for our next spot. The Polestar 3 and Volvo EX90 are related Swedish SUVs both built on the Volvo SPA2 platform, recently upgraded to 800V architecture. While the EX90 leans into Volvo’s heritage of building sophisticated seven-seat SUVs, the Polestar has sportier aspirations. Both get a 107kWh battery that will recharge from 10-80% in 22 minutes.
Also based on the SPA2 system and with the same hardwares stats, the ES90 is the saloon-shaped sibling to the Volvo’s seven-seat EUV.
The Polestar 5, meanwhile is entirely its own thing – an 872bhp grand tourer with pace and poise to spare, plus the ability to get its 106kWh battery from 10-80% in 22 minutes.
The Lotus meanwhile sits somewhere amid all those models. It’s a full-size luxury-tinged SUV, but one that can go from 0-62mph in less than 3 seconds. This first SUV from Hethel aims to be a high-tech, high-performance complete package, with more than 900bhp and a 10-80% time of 20 minutes for its 109kWh battery.
The BMW iX3 was a landmark car for being the UK’s first 500-mile EV, although it has since been eclipsed by the related i3, which can manage 566 miles. Both the iX3 SUV and i3 saloon run on a dedicated 800V EV platform with BMW’s latest Gen6 EV hardware. That means impressive power – up to 463bhp – but more impressive charging that will take its 108kWh battery from 10-80% in just 21 minutes.
Hot on the iX3’s heels is the Volvo EX60, which went on sale a few months…
