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The speed at which electric vehicles can replenish electrons from DC fast chargers is a key statistic that brings potential EV buyers into certain manufacturers’ showrooms and makes them avoid others. This is because the faster an EV is going to charge, the less time they expect they will have to spend waiting around for its battery to be topped up.
These charging speed numbers seem to be very important for prospective EV buyers. The bigger they are, the more attractive they make a model in buyers’ eyes, even though they perhaps should be paying more attention to the small print about the size of their battery packs and for how many miles they can stretch one kilowatt hour (so that they spend less time charging).
Manufacturers have speculated this trend among buyers and are trying to outdo one another with ever-quicker charging EVs, with more attention-grabbing headline figures. It’s undeniable that some impressive advancements in the field of EV charging have been made in recent years, and charging times are dropping significantly even compared to five years ago.
Currently, the fastest-charging EVs run at 800 volts or more, and the charging speed leaders can bring their batteries’ state of charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in under 20 minutes. They can add hundreds of miles of range in 10 minutes or so, which sounds very appealing to those EV buyers who don’t want to spend more time charging than they did filling up their old gas car. We’re not quite there yet, but given the rate of advancement, it’s a point the industry will probably reach in less than five years.
When Edmunds tested the real-world charging speed of EVs, it found that Hyundai and Kia EVs charged the quickest.
Let’s go over the fastest-charging EVs available in 2024 and examine what their impressive claimed maximum charging power figures mean. We also listed when each vehicle will come equipped with the Tesla NACS connector. It’s worth noting that the EVs with the fastest rate of charge aren’t necessarily the ones with the lowest charging times, since some have quite big battery packs that will require more time to charge.
The GMC Hummer EV and Hummer EV SUV have a unique split battery pack that allows the vehicles to operate at 400 volts while driving and 800 volts to increase their charging speed. It should have a maximum charging speed of 350 kW, although we haven’t seen it go much above 300 kW when tested. GMC says that in ideal conditions, it can add up to 100 miles of range in just 12 minutes when hooked up to a powerful enough Level 3 DC fast charger.
Priced from $96,550
NACS charger: From Summer 2024
Chevrolet tells us the Silverado 4WT can add up to 100 miles in as little as 10 minutes when charging at a low state of charge on a 350-kW DC fast charger. Like the Hummer EV and Hummer EV SUV, the Silverado EV's battery pack is wired as two separate 400-volt battery packs. To reach its full charging potential, some relays switch open, others close, and the pack changes from a parallel configuration to a serial arrangement, which, in turn, doubles the voltage.
Priced from: $74,800
NACS charger: 2025 Model Year (expected in Summer 2024)
Thanks to technical help from parent company Geely, which also built it a brand new factory in China to make luxury EVs, Lotus has created what could be the world's fastest-charging production EV. Lotus says the Emeya's 800-volt platform allows it to charge at a maximum 350 kW, which is good for a 10-80% charging time of 18 minutes.
However, when an independent consulting firm tested the Emeya in Germany on a 400-kW charger, it went from 10-80% in just 14 minutes, with a peak charging power of 402 kW and an average throughout the session of 331 kW. These numbers exceed what Lotus claims for this model, which officially does 10-80% in 18 minutes and shouldn't go above 350 kW.
Priced from: $85,000 - $90,000 (est)
NACS charger: No
2024 Lotus Eletre S Exterior Front Quarter
The Lotus Eletre SUV shares its platform with the Emeya sedan and has the same claimed charging specs—it officially maxes out at 350 kW. It has a slightly larger battery pack than the Emeya, so the 10-80% charge takes 20 instead of 18 minutes, and a 5-minute charge should add 74 extra miles of range.
Priced from: $107,000
NACS charger: No
The Lucid Air runs at over 900 volts, which makes it the highest-voltage EV currently on sale in the US. This allows for impressive charging speeds of up to 300 kW in the top Grand Touring and Sapphire trims, which can gain up to 200 miles of range in 12 minutes. Charging from 10 to 80 percent state of charge takes a claimed 22 minutes. When our own Tom Moloughney tested the charging speed of the Air Dream Edition from flat to full back in 2021, he saw it peak at a remarkable 304 kW.
Priced from $111,400
NACS charger: From 2025
Porsche’s second mass-market electric model, the Macan EV, is built on a different 800-volt platform than the Taycan, but it still has the same peak charging speed of 270 kW. Even though its battery pack’s usable capacity is slightly higher than the Taycan, the manufacturer says it can go from 10 to 80 percent in 21 minutes.
Priced from $80,450
NACS charger: From 2025
Thanks to the 800-volt technology it acquired by partnering up with Rimac, Porsche’s first EV, the Taycan, can charge at impressive speeds of up to 270 kW. That allows the sporty electric sedan (or wagon) to increase its state of charge from 5 to 80 percent in 22.5 minutes.
Priced from $111,100
NACS charger: From 2025
The Audi E-Tron GT is built on the same 800-volt platform as the Porsche Taycan, so it can also reach charging speeds of 270 kW. It also has an identical battery pack as the Porsche, which is why it’s not surprising it too can go from 5 to 80 percent in 22.5 minutes.
Priced from $106,500
NACS charger: From 2025
The Cybertruck is the first 800-volt EV from Tesla, and it’s also the fastest to charge, with a maximum rate of over 300 kW. Tesla says it’s limited to 250 kW, but independent tests have shown it can go beyond 300 kW even when hooked up to a powerful enough third-party charger. The manufacturer estimates that a 15-minute charge should add up to 128 miles of driving range.
Priced from $81,890
NACS charger: Yes
The Tesla Model 3 runs on a 400-volt architecture, so it can’t quite match the quickest-charging EVs, but its charging performance is still impressive given the voltage. It can peak at 250 kW, which is enough to add 175 miles of range in 15 minutes.
Priced from $38,990
NACS charger: Yes
The Tesla Model Y is the Model 3’s slightly bigger and more practical brother. They have similar underpinnings and batteries, but the taller and heavier Model Y travels less on one charge. It can also charge at a maximum of 250 kW, but charging for 15 minutes will only add 162 miles of range, according to Tesla (the least of any model in the manufacturer’s lineup).
Priced from $43,990
NACS charger: Yes
Tesla’s first mass-market vehicle, the Model S, has seen several important updates over its almost one-decade career, so today it provides the same 250 kW maximum charging speed as the rest of the lineup. It has a bigger battery pack than the Model 3 and Y, but Tesla says a 15-minute stop at a Supercharger can add up to 200 miles of range.
Priced from $74,990
NACS charger: Yes
The Tesla Model X is the SUV equivalent of the Model S, and they have similar underpinnings as well as the same battery pack and peak charging speed of 250 kW. The Model X carries more weight and is less aerodynamic, so it travels less on one charge, which is why it isn’t surprising that a 15-minute Supercharger top-up adds 175 miles of range.
Priced from $79,990
NACS charger: Yes
Even though all Lucid Airs run at the same 900+ volts, the more affordable Pure and Touring trims charge slightly slower than the Grand Touring and Sapphire, with a maximum charging speed of 250 kW. They can charge up to 200 miles of range in 17 and 15 minutes, respectively.
Priced from $77,400
NACS charger: From 2025
The EX90 is Volvo’s electric equivalent to (and eventual replacement for) the XC90, a big, family-friendly SUV. It rides on a new platform that will be shared with other Volvo and Polestar models and features a maximum charging speed of 250 kW, which is an impressive achievement for a 400-volt EV. Volvo says it needs 30 minutes to bring its big battery of over 100 kWh from 10 to 80 percent state of charge, and the manufacturer also notes that 10 minutes of DC fast charging can add up to 112 miles of range.
Priced from $76,695
NACS charger: From 2025
The Polestar 3 is built on the same underpinnings as the Volvo EX90 and has the same large battery. This means it has the same peak charging power of 250 kW and the same 10 to 80 percent charging time of 30 minutes, but a 10-minute fast charging session should add slightly more miles given the Polestar 3’s lower weight and slipperier body.
Priced from $78,900
NACS charger: From 2025
The Kia EV6 looks like a tall rally-derived fastback, but underneath its sporty sheet metal, it’s based on the Hyundai-Kia group’s E-GMP 800-volt dedicated EV architecture. It has a maximum charging power of 240 kW and a 10 to 80 percent charge time of 17 - 18 minutes, depending on the version.
Priced from $42,600
NACS charger: From Q4 2024
The Kia EV9 is the Korean automaker's latest electric model to launch, but it hasn't exceeded the EV6's maximum charging speed. It will charge at a maximum 235 kW for the smaller 76.1 kWh battery and 210 kW for the larger 99.8 kWh battery, which is enough for a 10 - 80 percent charge in 20 minutes and 24 minutes, respectively.
Priced from $54,900
NACS charger: From 2025
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is also built on the E-GMP platform, with a peak charging speed of 233 kW. The manufacturer says its battery can go from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes, regardless of battery pack size, if hooked up to a station that can provide at least 250 kW.
Priced from $37,500
NACS charger: From Q4 2024
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