The fastest charging electric cars in the UK
These are the official maximum charging rates in kW of all the electric cars available in the UK in 2024 – ranked in order from the quickest to the slowest...
If you're thinking of buying an electric car but have no experience of charging one, you might be concerned about how long it will take to replenish your car's battery.
Well, the bad news is, it will take longer to "fill up" even the best electric cars than any petrol or diesel vehicle. However, if you can find a fast enough public charger and have a car with rapid charging capability, you can slash the time it does take.
To help you decide whether electric motoring is for you and, if it is, which model suits your lifestyle, below we listed all the electric cars and SUVs we've test-driven, and ranked them in order of the maximum charging speed rating (in kW) available across the model range.
We've also given an estimate of how many miles of range you'll be able to add by plugging it into a rapid charger for a 10-minute "pitstop" top-up. So, starting with the fastest charging electric car in the UK by kW rating – the Lotus Eletre – here are all the electric car models we've reviewed listed in order of charging speed...
Maximum charging rates for electric cars available in the UK
From 250kW to 350kW
Depending on how efficiently a car uses its charge, a 10-minute battery top-up at 270kW should add around 120 miles of range.
Lotus Eletre – 350kW
Audi e-tron GT – 320kW
Porsche Taycan – 320kW
XPeng G6 – 280kW
Audi Q6 e-tron – 270kW
Maserati GranTurismo Folgore – 270kW
Porsche Macan Electric – 270kW
Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo – 270kW
Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo – 270kW
Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 260kW
Kia EV6 – 258kW
Polestar 3 – 250kW
Tesla Model 3 – 250kW
Tesla Model S – 250kW
Tesla Model X – 250kW
Tesla Model Y – 250kW
Volvo EX90 – 250kW
From 200kW to 249kW
At 200kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 90 miles of range.
Kia EV6 GT – 238kW
Kia EV9 – 238kW
Genesis Electrified GV70 – 233kW
Genesis GV60 – 233kW
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N – 238kW
Hyundai Ioniq 6 – 233kW
Genesis Electrified G80 – 230kW
BMW i5 – 205kW
Polestar 2 – 205kW
Mercedes EQS – 200kW
Mercedes EQS SUV – 200kW
VW ID Buzz LWB – 200kW
Volvo EC40 – 200kW
From 150kW to 199kW
At 150kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 50 miles of range.
BMW i7 – 195kW
BMW iX – 195kW
Ford Explorer – 185kW
Rolls-Royce Spectre – 195kW
VW ID Buzz SWB – 185kW
BMW i4 – 180kW
Audi Q4 e-tron – 175kW
Cupra Born – 175kW
Skoda Enyaq Coupé vRS – 175kW
Volkswagen ID.7 – 175kW
Audi Q8 e-tron – 170kW
Audi Q8 Sportback e-tron – 170kW
Mercedes EQE – 170kW
Mercedes EQE SUV – 170kW
Volkswagen ID.3 – 170kW
Peugeot e-5008 – 160kW
Volvo EX30 – 153kW
BMW iX3 – 150kW
BYD Seal – 150kW
Ford Mustang Mach-E – 150kW
Lexus RZ – 150kW
Renault Scenic E-Tech – 150kW
Smart #1 – 150kW
Subaru Solterra – 150kW
Toyota bZ4X – 150kW
From 100kW to 149kW
At 100kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 40 miles of range.
KGM Torres EVX – 145kW
MG Cyberster – 144kW
Skoda Enyaq (excluding vRS) – 143kW
Skoda Enyaq Coupé (excluding vRS) – 143kW
Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron – 135kW
MG4 EV – 135kW
Volkswagen ID.4 – 135kW
Volkswagen ID.5 – 135kW
BMW iX1 – 130kW
BMW iX2 – 130kW
Mini Countryman Electric – 130kW
Nissan Ariya – 130kW
Renault Megane E-Tech – 130kW
Smart #3 – 130kW
Volvo XC40 Recharge – 130kW
Kia EV3 – 129kW
Mercedes EQA – 112kW
Mercedes EQB – 112kW
Mercedes EQC – 112kW
Jaguar I-Pace – 104kW
Hyundai Kona Electric – 102kW
Citroën ë-C4 – 101kW
Citroën ë-C4 X – 101kW
Peugeot e-208 – 101kW
Vauxhall Mokka Electric – 101kW
Alfa Romeo Junior – 100kW
DS 3 E-Tense – 100kW
Fiat 600e – 100kW
Jeep Avenger – 100kW
Peugeot e-308 – 100kW
Peugeot e-308 SW – 100kW
Peugeot e-2008 – 100kW
Vauxhall Astra Electric – 100kW
Vauxhall Combo Life Electric – 100kW
Vauxhall Corsa Electric – 100kW
From 50kW to 99kW
At 50kW, a 10-minute battery top-up should add around 20 miles of range.
MG ZS EV – 94kW
BYD Atto 3 – 89kW
BYD Dolphin – 88kW
MG5 EV – 87kW
Abarth 500e – 85kW
Electric Fiat 500 – 85kW
Leapmotor C10 – 83kW
Honda e:Ny1 – 78kW
Kia Soul EV – 77kW
Kia Niro EV – 72kW
GWM Ora 3 (Funky Cat) – 64kW
Lexus UX 300e – 50kW
Up to 49kW
Mini Electric – 49kW
Leapmotor T03 – 48kW
Honda e – 46kW
Nissan Leaf – 46kW
Renault Zoe – 46kW
Mazda MX-30 – 36kW
Dacia Spring – 30kW
Smart EQ Forfour – 22kW
Smart EQ Fortwo – 22kW
Citroën Ami – 3.6kW
How we compiled our fastest charging EVs list
This information has been gathered from a selection of sources – including manufacturer websites, press-release information and the EV Database
We've quoted the maximum charging speed that should be achievable by the quickest-charging versions of each model. Not every version of each car will be able to charge at the speed listed – often the fastest charging capability is reserved for the model with the biggest battery capacity.
You can read more about how speeds vary across the range by following the link from each model's name to our full new-car review.
Note that electric cars vary the rate of charge to protect the battery, so the charging rate usually slows down as it gets close to capacity.
Read more: The best electric SUVs in the UK
Read more: How long does it take to charge an electric car?
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