How long does it take to charge an electric car?

From 20% to 80%, the cars in our list take about 12.2 to 30.2 hours on a normal power point. On a 7 kW wall charger they take 4.1 to 7.9 hours. Pick your car and charger above to see your own time.

From 20% to 80%, about 35 to 70 minutes on a 50 kW fast charger and 18 to 35 minutes on a 150 kW fast charger. Most cars take less than a big charger can give, so a faster charger helps less than its number suggests. Real times vary by about ±15% with temperature and the charger.

Only when the car takes more than a 7 kW wall charger gives. In Australia the Seal Dynamic, Seal Premium, Dolphin Dynamic, Dolphin Premium, MG4 Urban 54 and MG4 Urban 43 take at most 7.36 kW on AC, and they charge on one phase. An 11 kW three-phase charger gives them only one phase: 3.68 kW. That is slower than a 7 kW wall charger. A 22 kW three-phase charger gives them 7.36 kW, so it is no faster than a 7 kW wall charger. The Model Y AWD 600 km, Model Y AWD 551 km, Model Y Performance, Model 3, EV6 Air RWD, EV6 GT-Line RWD and Ioniq 5 take up to 11 kW. For them, an 11 kW three-phase charger is faster. Our AC figure for the Dolphin Dynamic and Dolphin Premium is an estimate: the maker does not publish it for Australia.

A battery takes charge more slowly as it fills. On AC we use 67% of the power above 80%, from one measured car. On a fast charger we use 50% of the power from 80 to 90% and 20% from 90 to 100%, from measured charge curves. These are all estimates, so treat times above 80% as rough.

Yes, with the portable cable most cars come with. A 10 A power point gives 2.3 kW at 230 V. Many portable cables draw less than the point allows: our "10 A power point (8 A cable)" row uses 1.84 kW. Losses are higher at low current, so real times can be longer.

The Green Vehicle Guide measures energy use at the wall, so its Wh/km already includes charging loss. We add the 12% loss back onto the battery energy before we divide. Dividing battery kWh by the wall figure would undercount the km.