EV charging time explained

Charging time depends on how much energy you need and how fast the vehicle and charger can deliver it. For daily driving, you rarely need a full charge.

A simple way to work it out

Divide the energy needed by the charging power. A van using 40 kWh a day takes about 3.6 hours on an 11 kW charger.

AC and DC

• AC charging is slower and suits overnight charging. The vehicle's own charger sets the limit.
• DC fast charging is much quicker, and the charging station does the conversion.

Why makers quote 10 to 80%

Fast charging slows as the battery fills, to protect it. So makers quote a time to 80%, as the last part takes much longer. Some makers quote 20 to 80%, so check which one you're comparing.

What slows it down

• A very cold or very hot battery
• A charger shared with another vehicle
• A vehicle or charger with a lower peak power

Each vehicle page shows the charging figures we could check.