Charging an EV car ranging from a quick 30-minute to a full 12-hour and it all depends on the battery capacity and what type of charger you prefer. Once you know both, you can easily calculate how long it takes to charge an EV car.
Let me define both terms in detail below and then using a formula, I will reveal how you can easily calculate the charging time of an EV car.
Type of charger
An electric car can be charged with a charger. The type of charger either can be AC or DC. A DC charger can charge the EV car in a much faster way, while if you use the AC charger then it will take some time and the reason is car batteries only accept the DC and when you use AC charger, then it first converts from AC to DC and then the car batteries are charged!
So the conversion of AC to DC is the main reason of slow charging while in case of DC charger there is no such conversion required and car battery charge in faster way!
Hence, preferring a DC charger over AC charger is the best option as it charges your EV car in a much faster way and saves a lot of time and effort.
In India, you will mostly get below given chargers having power of 3.3 kW to 50 kW:
- 3.3 kW AC Charger (at Home)
- 7.2 kW AC Fast Charger (at Home)
- 7.2 kW DC Fast Charger (at Charging Stations)
- 25 KW DC Fast Charger
- 50 KW DC Fast Charger
Note: At charging stations you may see CCS chargers which combine AC and DC charging capabilities into a single connector and it charges the EV car much faster than a simple fast DC charger (approx 5-10% faster).
Battery capacity
In addition, the battery capacity of the EV car also matters. More battery capacity means EV car will take more time to charge. Less battery capacity means EV car will take less time to charge.
Hence, a car having battery capacity of 24 kWh will be charged quickly while another car having battery capacity of 40 kWh will take some time.
EV Car Charging Time
So now once you know what type of charger you use and what is the battery capacity of your car, based on that by applying a formula you can easily calculate how long does it take to charge an EV car!
Car charging time = battery capacity kWh (empty one)/ charger kW
If electric car has battery capacity of 24 kWh and you use the 3.3 kW AC charger then the charging time to charge EV from 0 to 100% would be:
- Battery capacity: 24 kWh
- Charger power: 3.3 kW
- Charging time = Battery capacity / Charger power
- 24 kWh / 3.3 kW = 7.3 hours
- Charging time with 7.2 kWh
- 24 kWh / 7.2 kW = 3.3 hours
In the case of DC fast charging, the electric car will charge slightly faster (from 10-80%) because the battery accepts DC and no conversion is required. However, you should know that the DC charger mainly charges the vehicle at up to 80% (in speed) but later the charging speed is reduced due to safety issues or the power is cut off.
So here If electric car has battery capacity of 24 kWh and you use the CCS DC charger then the charging time to charge EV from 10 to 80% would be:
- Electric car battery capacity: 24 kWh
- Using a CCS DC fast charger with 7.2 kW power
- Charging from 10% (2.4 kWh) to 80% (19.2 kWh)
- Energy needed is 19.2 – 2.4 = 16.8 kWh
- With a 7.2 kW CCS DC charger:
Charging time = Energy needed / Charger power = 16.8 kWh / 7.2 kW = 2 hours 20 minutes
So with a lower power 7.2 kW CCS DC fast charger, the estimated charging time to go from 10% to 80% for this 24 kWh electric car battery is around 140 minutes or 2 hours 20 minutes.
In case, if you use CCS DC fast charger of 25 kW power, EV car will take 40 minutes and with 50 kW charger the charging time would be 20 minutes only.
Here’s a table that can give you an idea about EV car charging time:
| AC vs Fast DC (Charging Time for EV Cars) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Capacity (kWh) | 3.3kW AC | 7.2kW AC | 7.2kW DC | 25kW DC | 50kW DC |
| 17.3 kWh (Comet EV) | 7 hours | 3.5 hours | ~3 hours | NA | NA |
| 24 kWh (Tiago EV) | 7-8 hours | 3-4 hours | ~3 hours | 56 minutes | 30 minutes |
| 35 kWh (Punch EV) | NA | 6 hours | 5-6 hours | 1-1.5 hours | 40 minutes |
| 40.5 kWh (Nexon EV) | NA | 7-7.5 hours | ~7 hours | < 2 hours | 50 minutes |
| 50.3 kWh (ZS EV) | NA | 8-9 hours | ~8 hours | 2 hours | 59 minutes |
That’s the simple math that you can use to find how long does it take to charge an EV car.
In addition to that, you can read the EV car brochure. It will give a full detail on charging time with each and every charger like 3.3 kW, 7.2 kW, 25kW, 50 kW and 60kW.
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