In the electric vehicle revolution, fear of running out of juice has been replaced by a new worry: that of recharging your battery. Now that the EV market in this country has become more mature in 2025, the range in time between the fastest and slowest-charging models has become an important consideration for potential customers. So now that we have more sophisticated testing procedures that are universally accepted in the industry, we can finally compare EVs on a level playing field to see which models will keep you on the move and which may strand you at the charger.
How We Measure Charging Speed
Before we get into rankings, it’s crucial to know the terms of charging speed. Automakers have their own ways of claiming charging times, but tests from 10 to 90 percent charge are the industry standard. “Although peak charging power in kilowatts is eye catching, the average charging power throughout the charge session is also very important as it more accurately represents the true charging curve of a vehicle on long distance journeys,” it observed.
The best measurements for everyday consumers;
Weight of the time to reach a charge of 10-80%
Time to add 100 miles of range
The median charge rate (kW) provided during the charge session
These measures provide a good overview of how an EV is likely to fare when you want to quick-charge on a road trip – the one time when charging speed counts the most.
The Charging Speed Champions
Korean producers have taken a clear lead in charging technology. Now Genesis, Hyundai and Kia EVs occupy the top five positions on the fastest charging list in independent tests. They claim the 800-volt architecture on which the Taycan is based allows much friendlier recharging levels.
The unchallenged charging champion is the Genesis GV70 Electrified, which added 10-90% charge in just 24 minutes in Car and Driver testing. Even more impressively, it only took knocked off another 100 miles in 13 minutes with a peak charge rate of 239 kW, still managing to leave 166 kW as the industry’s leading average charge throughout the session.
Kia’s EV6 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 are close behind, with Kia stating every version of the EV6, regardless of battery size, is able to refill from 10-80% in just 18 minutes, making it one of the fastest-charging EVs on sale. The Ioniq 5 N matches this, but standard Ioniq 5 models take around 20 minutes.
European luxury houses are not far behind. The Porsche Taycan leads the performance charts in terms of peak and average charging power, all this at an acceptable efficiency considering it was designed as a sport car! Porsche intends to update the Taycan for 2025, a promise that it’ll charge even faster.
The Lucid Air is also notable for winning the 2025 “Fastest Charging EV Sedan” and “Fastest Charging Electric Car between $40-$80K,” delivering 100 miles in 9 minutes at its peak DC charging rate. This incredible performance is made possible by Lucid’s in-house developed 900-volt architecture.
Other high-performing fast chargers are the Mercedes-Benz EQS Sedan which gets to 80% full in around 30 minutes and can travel a long 352 miles. The BMW i7 also offers competitive charging speeds paired with its luxurious amenities.
The Charging Laggards
On the other end of the spectrum, some EVs have trouble charging fast enough to have road trip–ready battery ranges.
The worst offender is the GMC Hummer EV SUV, which required more than two hours to finish our routine charging test. Even though it saw a peak charge rate of 300 kW (quite a stunner), it swiftly dropped and averaged a meager 78 kW. Part of the reason it’s moving at such a glacial speed is that it has a huge 170 kWh battery pack.
Slowest chargers Toyota and Subaru’s collaborative vehicles come in as some of the slowest chargers as well. The slow-charging new EVs The Solterra and bZ4X are two of the slowest-charging new EVs today, at five or fewer miles of added range per minute charged.
The Kia Niro EV is a great, practical vehicle overall except for one thing: slow charging. Its short charge range makes it best for homes with a second car for taking long journeys.
Other slow chargers include the Nissan Leaf, Fiat 500e and a number of entry-level models that skimped on the charging front in order to keep the price down.
The Tech That Will Charge You Faster
800-volt architecture is the technology that allows EVs to charge the fastest. Having twice the voltage of 400V systems-and the ability to transmit twice the power (using half the current), thereby cutting down energy loss as heat-800V EVs are also compatible with ultra-high-power charging stations.
This higher-voltage method carries numerous benefits:
Much faster charging time
Lighter weight of the vehicle due to thinner wires
Improved efficiency and range
Higher performance properties
Industry analysts project electric vehicle adoption of 800V architecture to expand from 2% of EVs, in 2022, to 12% in 2025, with higher end models driving the shift. Some automotive experts think most new EV models that hit the market in 2025 will come with 800-volt systems.
Real-World Implications
For electric vehicle drivers, charging speed is synonymous with how convenient their vehicles are. The quickest charging units can recharge with more than 200 miles of range during a short 20-minute pit-stop — similar to the time spent filling up at a gas station when including bathroom breaks and snack shopping.
By contrast, the owners of the slowest-charging EVs could be hammering out itineraries based around spending an hour chargingthe car and spending relatively immobile on lengthier trips.
In day-to-day use, charging speed is less important, he said, because most electric vehicle owners charge at home overnight. For daily drives, most electric cars will be charged at home with a Level 2 charger, and many if not most can recharge every couple of days without dwelling too much on your dwell time at the charger.
Home Charging Solutions
Although it’s fast DC charging that hogs more of the spotlight, home charging is the bedrock of EV ownership. Home chargers, called Level 2, which run on 240-volt electric power at outputs of 6 to 19 kilowatts, are usually adequate to charge an electric car with a moderate-size battery overnight. This easy practical solution removes charging delays for every day driving.
Beautiful by contrast, a typical household outlet (Level 1) can muster only around a kilowatt of power, taking days to fully charge an E.V. Standards-compliant Level 3 fast chargers can supply up to 350 kilowatts, but these are expensive and require a dedicated and high-current power supply, and are not suitable for residential use.
The Future of EV Charging
Development in the charging world is progressing quickly in 2025. More brands are embracing 800-volt units and some are looking at systems with even more voltage. Now, fast-charging lists are topped by only the Model 3 and Model Y, demonstrating how the technology that once was at the forefront for Tesla is starting to feel its age, even after some recent updates.
Charging infrastructure is also being addressed by the industry, which now is increasingly placing high-power DC stations along major highways all over the world. The speed at which an EV can charge will be an important competitive differentiator, one that could well end up being more of a defining performance kpi than range.
For consumers thinking about buying an EV in 2025, charging speed should be a question that’s asked as much as range, especially for people that often drive farther than their EV’s one-charge range. The swiftest-charging models also take a great obstacle to EV adoption off the table for some drivers: For them, long-distance travel can be almost as easy in a conventional car.