Lotus Emeya Wins Crown As Fastest Charging EV

Out of some of the fastest-charging EVs on the market, the Lotus Emeya recently took the fast-charging crown, and it wasn’t even close, as it managed to charge from 10-80% in just 14 minutes. This result was achieved by the management consulting company P3 Group during its annual Charging Index study that compares the various fast-charging capabilities of EVs currently on the market to determine their long-distance suitability.

All the models tested can be purchased in Asia, whereas past tests were conducted in Europe and the US. Previous winners included models like the Lucid Air GT, Porsche Taycan, Mercedes EQS, and Kia EV6, but they all pale in comparison to the new champion from Lotus which absolutely mopped the floor against current competitors like the BMW i7 and Tesla Model Y Long Range. We knew the Emeya was going to be a killer EV, but this testing proves it’s leagues above the competition.

How The Test Works

This isn’t some test conducted in a lab, but an attempt to see how well these models charge in the real world, so the vehicles were measured at public Combined Charging System Type 1 and 2 chargers with speeds up to 400 kW, while the Tesla was charged at V3 Superchargers. Each vehicle was preconditioned (if available) and an inductive coupler and Vector CANoe were utilized to ensure the charging station did not restrict the charging power. Charging was then conducted from a 10-80% state of charge.

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The models tested and their net power figures included the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ (108.4 kWh), Lotus Emeya (102 kWh), BMW i7 eDrive50 (101.7 kWh), KIA EV9 rear-wheel drive (99.8 kWh), XPENG G9 rear-wheel drive long-range (93.1 kWh), NIO ET5 Touring (90 kWh), Genesis G80 Electrified (82.5 kWh), Tesla Model Y long-range rear-wheel drive (76.8 kWh), Hyundai IONIQ 6 rear-wheel drive (74 kWh), and BYD Atto 3 (60.4 kWh).

The Lotus Was The Clear Winner

The tests found that the Emeya was able to reach speeds up to 402 kW, with an average speed of 331 kW during its charging tests, which according to the graphs, is significantly better than any other competitor besides the XPENG G9. Looking at its charging curve you can see it starts charging around the 400 kW mark before dipping down briefly due to what P3 believes was a temperature spike.

As the test continues, the charging rate decreases to a level much closer to its competitors, but still above them by a significant margin. The Tesla tops out at 229 kW, before dropping to a 141 kW average, the Ioniq 6 peaks at 235 kW before dropping to a 184 kW average, and the rest of the vehicles are a mixed bag.

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Overall, the Emeya was able to add 285 miles in 20 minutes, with the next closest competitor being the EQS, which added 231 miles in the same time. Many of the vehicles chosen performed well, with the testing finding that the Ioniq 6 had the lowest power consumption, allowing it to compete with vehicles with much larger batteries. No matter how you look at it though, the lotus is the clear winner, and this testing indicates we’re in for some wickedly fast charging by the end of the decade as the charging network continues to grow.