Faster EV charging speeds

Acceleration and fast charging have long been two of the proudest boasts of Tesla drivers. But, according DrivingElectric.com, the tables are about to turn when it comes to charging speed.

Next year, some electric cars from makers such as Audi will be beating Teslas for mid-journey charge times, with much less expensive family EVs from the likes of Hyundai, Kia and Nissan sure to follow.

It’s all thanks to the imminent rollout of a new network of 150kW charging points, at ordinary filling stations across the UK. BP Chargemaster has developed technology that will offer the fastest top-ups to date for electric cars, to be installed on forecourts in 2019.

The new ‘ultra-rapid’ chargers are faster than the famous Tesla Supercharger system, enabling cars like the new Audi e-tron to charge up from 20 to 200 miles of range in under 30 minutes.

Vicky Parrott, associate editor of DrivingElectric.com, said the move heralds another major step toward electric vehicles entering the mainstream, where driver convenience is vital for encouraging widespread adoption.

‘Even now that EV choice, price and range are coming within reach of ordinary motorists, everyone knows that one of the factors still making drivers hesitate is mid-journey charging time,’ Vicky said.

DrivingElectric.com recently reported that sales of pure electric vehicles in October this year were 86.9% higher than in the same month a year ago. And even used electric cars saw a rise in sales of 8.3 per cent during the third quarter of 2018, as fears about battery reliability begin to reduce among curious consumers.