How long does it take to charge an EV?

What’s the average charge time for an Electric Car?

The electric vehicle public charging network has come a long way over the past few years with rapid and ultra-rapid chargers becoming more commonplace. However, the most convenient place to charge your car is at home while it’s parked and you’re sound asleep. But how long does each type of charging take?

There are many factors to take into account when working out charging times, with temperature, charger type and the car itself all part of the equation, so it’s not a simple answer, but we go through all of these below.

Above all, it’s important to know that with every year that passes, the average range of EVs increases. In fact, the average range of the vehicles available with Tusker is now more than 260 miles to a charge, with many models, such as the Kia EV6, BMW i4, or the Tesla Model 3 having ranges of more than 300 miles, and some, such as the Polestar 2, having more than 400 miles. This means that you will more than likely need to charge your car less than you would imagine, but as and when you do, what are the options?

Polestar 2

What factors affect charging speed of an electric car?

When it comes to how long it will take to charge your battery, there are a few factors to consider:

• Battery size – more powerful batteries hold more electricity so it can take longer to charge them.
• Speed – some cars can be charged using ultra rapid chargers which makes it quicker to power the battery.
• Current charge – like your mobile phone, charging a battery from 1% to full takes longer than charging from 20% to 80%, so the amount of electricity in the battery will also impact the time it takes to charge.
• Temperature – your car will take longer to charge if it’s cold outside (under 5 degrees), but many cars have a preconditioning feature which warms the battery for a faster charge in these conditions.

To give you a sense of the different times it can take to charge different battery sizes at different speeds, take a look at PodPoint’s example.

One last key point to remember is that you may not need to charge your EV as much as you imagine. Tusker’s research has shown that the average driver drives less than 80 miles a week, and with the current average range of all the EVs available on our schemes now above 260 miles, it means on average, most drivers won’t need to charge their cars more than once every two-to-three weeks with normal driving. With this in mind, a weekly top up at the supermarket would be more than enough to maintain a good level of charge.

Whether you can charge at home or on the go, there’s no need to feel anxious about powering your electric car. Sure, it would be great to have a charging point at home for easy overnight charging, but with a rapidly expanding network of public charging points all over the UK, there are plenty of other options too, which means that running an EV is well within your grasp.

Cars Available on the Tusker Car Benefit Scheme

Tusker has a great range of vehicles available on its schemes, to suit all budgets, lifestyles and usage. For the full range, have a look in our driver’s portal to find your perfect car, but here are two great examples of popular EVs that you can put on your driveway right away.