Stop comparing EV charging times to petrol fill-ups, they're already quick enough

How fast do you need to be able to charge an electric car? Is charging quickly necessary, and how often would you actually need an EV that can charge in the time it takes to refuel a petrol car? Or will we accept that different tech means a different way of life?

Because owning an electric car IS different. Your petrol car can go further without needing refuelling, and can be topped up more quickly, but the flipside is that – if you can charge at home – an EV is freshly topped up every time you leave the house. Different way of life.

Auto Express was recently invited to the new Hyundai Motor Group test facility in Frankfurt, Germany, and charging time was among the future-gazing topics covered, with engineers talking about efforts to get it to match how long it takes to refuel a petrol car.

Shell also said recently that it is working with UK firm Horiba Mira on a fluid that will help cool electric powertrains to cut charge times to around 10 minutes.

But is charging time really the right thing to be focusing resources and money on? If EVs were more efficient in terms of both powertrain and overall vehicle weight, there would be less need to charge.

If you’re on a long run, is having to stop for at least 20 minutes to recharge every 250 miles really that prohibitive? By the time you’ve had a quick break and grabbed something to eat or drink, the car is generally ready to go.

Of course, plenty of people – particularly those who can’t home-charge – will disagree, because they need to be able to charge in five minutes every 250 miles.

The difference between petrol and electric was drummed home again to me recently. After my EV sat charging in a car park while I was at a meeting, a colleague glibly pointed out that if we had been in a petrol-engined car, we’d then have had to drive round the corner to a petrol station. The EV refuelled itself while we were busy elsewhere. As I say, a different way of doing things.

The ecosystem around EVs is developing quickly, and it doesn’t work for everyone, which is fine. And it would be lovely if we could get away from the increasingly polarised debate between EV and petrol advocates.

But sometimes the electric way of life is a step forward. Well, it will be if someone sorts out public charging costs…

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