Who are the turbos in the charging station?

There are two things that petrol and diesel car drivers don’t have to worry about when refueling: the flow rate of the dispenser (it’s written in lower case at every gas pump) and the fuel supply to their car. As a rule, we put the nozzle in the filler neck of a combustion car. After three to four minutes, even a luxury sedan like the Mercedes S-Class fills up with its 80-liter tank – the journey can continue.

With an electric car, things are a little different. Here the driver decides how quickly he can power his electric car when choosing the charging station. 50 kilowatts (kW) of direct current charging capacity is called a fast charging station – but at 50 kW the charging speed is still manageable. Hyperchargers work faster on highways, especially for fast interim charging. They seduce with charging capacities of 150 to 350 kilowatts and charge the battery much faster.

But unlike a petrol or diesel engine car with the fuel pump on, in an electric car the refueling speed is primarily controlled by the vehicle itself. After all, what good is a 300 kW fast charging station if, for example, the popular Fiat 500e electric model can “charge” with a maximum of 80 kilowatts of electricity?

Up to 270 kilowatts of charging power

Many new electric models can charge with a maximum output of 150 kilowatts. The fastest in the e-charging station reaches over 200 kilowatts of charging capacity. These are models from Audi and Porsche with 800-volt charging technology, as well as Hyundai and Kia. Even the Audi E-Tron GT and Porsche Taycan charge with a maximum output of 270 kilowatts.

Here we provide an overview of the most popular electric models and their maximum charging speeds, based on manufacturer information and test fees. Of course, these are approximate maximums that manufacturers can continually increase with “over-the-air” updates. That’s what happened with all models based on the Volkswagen Group’s modular electric kit lately. For example, the charging capacity of VW ID. The 3, or Skoda Enyaq, is still a modest 125 kilowatts at launch. However, in the meantime, thanks to services and software updates, it has been increased up to 170 kilowatts for this same vehicle. Faster loading thanks to new software, even after purchasing a car: another difference from filling with an internal combustion engine.