Which EV charges the fastest? - the top 10 fastest charging EVs in Australia

The fastest-charging electric car using AC (alternating current) charging is currently a tie between the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-Tron and Audi e-Tron GT. The fastest-charging EV using DC (direct current) charging is a tie between the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. 

EV charging and its associated technology, much like daytime soap opera plotlines, is something that seems too complicated to get your head around, but even quick, cursory digging into the topic reveals that it’s way easier to understand than you may have realised. 

The first thing you need to understand before we get into battery size and AC/DC (the electricity, not the rock band), is how that there are three different types of charging. 

Level 1 charging can be done via a domestic wall socket or a ‘slow’ public charger using AC electricity, which can be done at rate between 2.4 and 7.2kW. Depending on the EV involved, this can add anywhere between 10-50km of driving range per hour. 

Level 2 charging also uses AC electricity, but the charge rate is upped to between 11 and 22kW, meaning you’ll have less time to wait around while the EV charges. These are typically public chargers that you find in places like council car parks and shopping centres. 

A DC fast charger is, you guessed it, the fastest EV charger, and the charge rate typically starts at 50kW, although it can be as low as 25kW and as high as 350kW, although this is rare (as are EVs that can handle such a rate, as it requires 800-volt battery architecture). 

Below are the top 10 fastest charging EVs (from near empty to near full) using both AC and DC charging, with the caveat that several factors - ambient and battery temperature and age of the battery, for example - can have an effect on overall charging time. 

Top 10 pure EVs by claimed AC charging speed

AC charging speed is determined by an EV's AC to DC inverter, as the high-voltage battery can ultimately only accept DC. This part carries a cost, so generally the more expensive the electric car, the higher chance that it will have a fast AC charger. Some cars on this list, like the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron only offer the maxiumum AC charge speed of 22kW as part of an option pack.

A faster AC charging speed means more convenient charging at locations like shopping centres and council car parks, as well as the ability to make the most of home power wall or home battery installations.

1. Porsche Taycan

Price: $153,600, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 93.4kWh

Max AC charge speed: 22kW

Claimed time to full charge: 4.5 hours

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our Taycan hub.

2. Audi e-Tron GT

 Price: $181,700, plus on-road costs 

 Battery capacity: 93kWh

 Max AC charge speed: 22kW

 Claimed time to full charge: 4.5 hours

 Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our e-Tron GT hub.

3. Audi e-Tron

Price: $139,900, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 95kWh

Max AC charge speed: 22kW

Claimed time to full charge: 4.5 hours

Plug standard:  Type 2 CCS

Find more at our e-Tron hub.

4. Tesla Model S

Price: $147,990, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 100kWh

Max AC charge speed: 16kW

Claimed time to full charge: variant dependant

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our Model S hub.

5. Tesla Model X

Price: $165,990, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 100kWh

Max AC charge speed: 16kW

Claimed time to full charge: variant dependant

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our Model X hub.

6. Mini Cooper SE

Price: $55,650, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 32.6kWh

Max AC charge speed: 11kW

Claimed time to full charge: 3.5 hours

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our Cooper hub.

7. Mercedes-Benz EQA

Price: $96,900, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 66.5kWh

Max AC charge speed: 11kW

Claimed time to full charge: 4.1 hours

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our EQA hub.

8. Hyundai Ioniq 5

Price: $71,900, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 72.6kWh

Max AC charge speed: 11kW

Claimed time to full charge: 6 hours

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our Ioniq 5 hub.

9. Kia EV6 

Price: $67,990, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 77.4kWh

Max AC charge speed: 11kW

Claimed time to full charge: 6 hours

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our EV6 hub.

10. Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure EV

Price: $76,990, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 78kWh

Max AC charge speed: 11kW

Claimed time to full charge: variant dependant 

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our XC40 hub.

Top 10 pure EVs by claimed DC charging speed

DC charging is generally determined by an EV's battery voltage and its ability to cool down its battery system. The fastest-charging EVs (350kW) use an 800-volt battery architecture, but most EVs today have more mainstrem 400-volt architectures. Generally more expensive EVs will have sophisticated cooling systems allowing them to optimise and reduce charging times at fast-charging locations.

Faster DC charging means less time spent stopped on longer intercity road-trips where most fast-charging will be done, with the fastest charging EVs on DC allowing an 80 per cent charge in under 25 minutes.

As DC charging can be thermodynamically taxing on battery systems, generally the charge rate slows down when batteries are below 10 per cent, or above 80 per cent in order to maintain long-term battery health. The variable charge rate is automatically manged by the car's computer.

Two cars here, the Mini Cooper SE and Mazda MX-30 technically have 'slow' DC charging rates of 50kW, but with small battery packs they are still amongst the fastest to charge from 10 - 80 per cent on the market.

1. Hyundai Ioniq 5

Price: $71,900, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 72.6kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 350kW

Charge time: 18 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

2. Kia EV6 

Price: $67,990, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 77.4kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 350kW

Charge time: 18 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

3. Porsche Taycan

Price: $153,600, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 93.4kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 270kW

Charge time: 22.5 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

4. Audi e-Tron GT

Price: $181,700, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 93kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 270kW

Charge time: 23 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

5. Audi e-Tron

Price: $139,900, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 95kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 150kW

Charge time: 30 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

6. Tesla Model 3

Price: $63,900, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 82.8kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 250kW

Charge time: 30 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our Model 3 hub.

7. BMW i4

Price: $99,900, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 84kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 150kW

Charge time: 31 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our i4 hub.

8. BMW iX3

Price: $114,900, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 74kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 150kW

Charge time: 32 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our iX3 hub.

9. Mazda MX-30

Price: $65490, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 35.5kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 50kW

Charge time: 36 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS

Find more at our MX-30 hub.

10. Mini Cooper SE

Price: $55,650, plus on-road costs 

Battery capacity: 32.6kWh

Max charge speed per hour: 50kW

Charge time: 36 minutes

Plug standard: Type 2 CCS