Electric car charging time: every charger speed and every popular model

Electric car charging time runs from more than a day on a household 3-pin socket to about 20 to 30 minutes for a 20 to 80% top-up on an ultra-rapid charger. On a 7 kW home wallbox, the popular models below fill from empty in 4.3 to 16.9 hours, so an overnight charge covers most cars.

Two things set the time: the power the charger can supply and the most the car can accept. The slower of the two wins. This guide gives the time for each charger speed, the 10 to 80% rapid time and wallbox time for popular models on sale in November 2026, and a worked example for the Range Rover Electric, which has the largest battery in our spec dataset.

How many hours does it take to charge an EV?

Most electric cars take 4 to 12 hours to charge from empty on a 7 kW home wallbox, and 18 to 35 minutes to go from 10 to 80% on a rapid charger. Zapmap groups UK chargers into the speeds below; the times are Zapmap’s typical figures.

Charger	Power	Where you find it	Typical time (Zapmap)
3-pin domestic socket	about 2.3 kW	Any home socket, with the car’s cable	Over 24 hours to fill a large battery
Home wallbox	up to 7.4 kW	Driveways and garages	6 to 12 hours to recharge
Standard public AC	3 to 7 kW	Street posts, car parks	6 to 12 hours to recharge
Standard Plus public AC	8 to 49 kW	Supermarkets, hotels, workplaces	A few hours for 20 to 80% on a 22 kW post
Rapid DC	50 to 149 kW	Retail parks, service areas	About 43 minutes for 20 to 80% in Zapmap’s Nissan Leaf example on a 50 kW charger
Ultra-rapid DC	150 kW and above	Motorway hubs	20 to 30 minutes for 20 to 80% in many newer models

The car is often the bottleneck. Zapmap’s example is a Kia EV6 with an 11 kW onboard charger: it charges no faster on a 22 kW post than on an 11 kW post, because it cannot draw the extra power. The same applies at home. If you are deciding between wallbox sizes, our guide to what size home EV charger you need explains why 7 kW suits most UK homes, and Best Chargers covers the units themselves.

How long does each popular electric car take to charge?

The table uses each car’s figures from EV Compared’s spec dataset, checked on 10 November 2026. The last two columns are our own: wallbox hours are usable battery divided by 7 kW, assuming the car accepts at least 7 kW on AC and ignoring charging losses, and miles in 10 minutes assumes 70% of the battery goes in during the maker’s 10 to 80% time (how we calculate these).

Car	Price from	Usable battery	WLTP range	10 to 80% DC	Miles added in 10 min (EVC)	Hours 0 to 100% on 7 kW (EVC)
BYD Dolphin Surf	£18,650	30 kWh	137 miles	30 min	32	4.3
Mini Cooper Electric	£26,905	36.6 kWh	190 miles	28 min	48	5.2
Vauxhall Corsa Electric	£27,505	46 kWh	221 miles	30 min	52	6.6
Nissan Leaf	£28,849	52 kWh	280 miles	35 min	56	7.4
Ford Puma Gen-E	£29,995	46.8 kWh	259 miles	26 min	70	6.7
MG4	£29,995	61.7 kWh	280 miles	25 min	78	8.8
Volvo EX30	£33,060	49 kWh	209 miles	26 min	56	7.0
Skoda Elroq	£34,295	58 kWh	279 miles	26 min	75	8.3
BMW iX1	£37,065	65 kWh	321 miles	29 min	77	9.3
BYD Atto 3	£38,990	74.8 kWh	316 miles	25 min	88	10.7
Mercedes CLA Electric	£39,150	58 kWh	331 miles	20 min	116	8.3
XPeng G6	£39,990	not published	298 miles	12 min	174	not calculated
Hyundai Ioniq 5	£40,695	not published	273 miles	18 min	106	not calculated
BMW i3	£47,925	82.8 kWh	441 miles	21 min	147	11.8
Volvo EX60	£56,860	80 kWh	380 miles	18 min	148	11.4
Audi Q6 e-tron	£60,565	75.8 kWh	325 miles	21 min	108	10.8
Range Rover Electric	£154,070	118.5 kWh	372 miles	22 min	118	16.9

Prices are list prices from the spec dataset in November 2026. The XPeng G6’s 12 minutes is the quickest 10 to 80% time of any car in our dataset, while the Nissan Leaf’s 35 minutes is the slowest in this table. Miles per 10 minutes matters more than peak kW on a long trip, because it combines charging speed with efficiency: the Mercedes CLA adds more range in 10 minutes than the Audi Q6 e-tron, despite a smaller battery. Our ranking of the fastest charging electric cars goes further down the list.

How long does it take to charge a Tesla?

Our spec dataset holds no 10 to 80% time for the Model 3 or Model Y, so they are not in the table above. The Tesla Model Y is listed in our dataset with a 175 kW peak DC rate and a 309-mile WLTP range, from £44,990.

At home, a Tesla follows the same rule as any other car: the smaller of the wallbox’s power and the car’s onboard limit sets the time. On the road, what you pay at a Supercharger depends on whether you drive a Tesla and hold a membership; our guide to Tesla Supercharger prices sets out both.

Worked example: charging a Range Rover Electric

The Range Rover Electric costs from £154,070 (EV550 Autobiography SWB, November 2026, Land Rover) and has the largest usable battery in our dataset at 118.5 kWh, with a 372-mile WLTP range. By our method it covers 3.14 miles per kWh.

At home, a 7 kW wallbox takes 16.9 hours to fill it from empty by our method, which ignores charging losses. Land Rover’s own figure is 19 hours on a 7 kW home charger. The car accepts 22 kW on AC, and Land Rover quotes 7 hours for 0 to 100% at that rate, but Zapmap puts home charging at up to 7.4 kW because most homes have a single-phase supply.

Intelligent Octopus Go’s off-peak window runs from 23:30 to 05:30. Six hours at 7 kW puts 42 kWh into the battery, about 132 miles at 3.14 miles per kWh, for £2.73 at 6.5p/kWh. A typical day’s driving is replaced in one night; a full refill from empty is not.

On the road, Land Rover says the 800-volt car charges from 10 to 80% in about 22 minutes on a 350 kW charger and adds 137 miles of WLTP range in 10 minutes. Our average-based figure is 118 miles in 10 minutes, lower because it spreads the 70% evenly over the whole 22 minutes.

What a full charge costs:

• £7.70 at 6.5p/kWh on Intelligent Octopus Go, or 2.1p a mile
• £31.19 at the 26.32p/kWh price cap (Ofgem, 1 October to 31 December 2026), or 8.4p a mile
• £97.17 at 82p/kWh, Zapmap’s October 2026 rapid average, or 26.1p a mile

Over 8,000 miles a year that is £166 on the off-peak tariff, £671 at the price cap and £2,090 if every mile came from rapid chargers. Land Rover’s real-world range is 333 miles.

Who it suits: an owner with a driveway and a smart tariff who takes long trips on 350 kW motorway chargers. Who it does not suit: a driver relying on public chargers, where each full charge costs more than £97, or anyone without the space for a home wallbox. EV Compared has not driven the car; this rests on Land Rover’s published data and our own sums.

How long does fast charging take?

Fast charging on a rapid or ultra-rapid charger takes most current electric cars from 10 to 80% in 18 to 35 minutes. Zapmap counts 50 to 149 kW as rapid and 150 kW and above as ultra-rapid, and calls the CCS connector the standard for rapid DC charging.

Makers quote 10 to 80% because charging slows at both ends. Zapmap says the rate drops below about 10% and again as the battery nears full, to protect the battery from damage and degradation. Once you have what you need, move on: some operators charge overstay fees on EV chargers.

Why is my EV charger only charging at 3 kW?

An EV charging at around 3 kW is usually on a 3-pin cable, which Zapmap puts at about 2.3 kW, or on a Standard public post rated at 3 to 7 kW. Other common causes:

• A cold battery. Zapmap says the ideal battery temperature is around 25°C and charging takes longer in the cold; plugging in straight after a drive helps. Our guide on why EVs charge slower in cold weather covers the rest.
• A smart charger managing power. Many home units cut the rate to stop the house supply being overloaded, or wait for a cheaper slot.
• The car’s own limits. A charge limit or a scheduled start set in the car’s app overrides the charger.

If none of those applies, the installer who fitted your wallbox can check the circuit.

Does charging an EV to 100% damage the battery?

Charging to 100% is something the car is built to manage, and it slows the final stretch deliberately to protect the battery, Zapmap says. Advice on everyday use differs by battery type, so set the daily charge limit your car’s handbook recommends and charge to full when a long trip needs the range.

Can you sit in your EV while it charges?

Yes, you can sit in the car, run the climate control and use the screens while it charges. Kia UK points out that conditioning the cabin while the car is plugged in avoids using battery power, so on a hot day it is better to cool the car before unplugging. Our guide to the best time to charge an EV at home shows how to time this with an off-peak tariff.

How to work out charging time yourself

Any electric car charging time calculator does the same sum: divide the kWh you want to add by the slower of the charger’s power and the car’s limit. To add 70% to an MG4’s 61.7 kWh battery on a 7 kW wallbox, that is about 43 kWh, or roughly 6.2 hours. For rapid charging, use the maker’s 10 to 80% time, as the power changes through the charge. Our guide to charging an electric car at home runs through more examples.

What charging time means for choosing a car

If you can charge at home, charging time barely matters: every car in our table with a published usable battery, except the Range Rover Electric, fills from empty in under 12 hours on a 7 kW wallbox, and most days you will add far less. Battery size then matters only for how far you go between charges.

If you drive long distances often, look at the miles added in 10 minutes rather than the peak kW figure. The Mercedes CLA (116 miles), BMW i3 (147 miles) and Volvo EX60 (148 miles) add far more per stop than the Nissan Leaf (56 miles) or Vauxhall Corsa Electric (52 miles).

If you have no driveway, cost matters more than speed. Rapid charging at Zapmap’s October 2026 average of 82p/kWh costs more than 12 times the 6.5p/kWh off-peak home rate, so a car you can top up at a cheaper 54p/kWh slow public post near home may suit you better than the fastest-charging model.