How long does it take to charge an electric car?

For a typical UK EV, the realistic times are: 7–10 hours on a 7kW home charger, 60–90 minutes on a 50kW rapid, and 20–40 minutes on a 150kW+ ultra-rapid — all for a 10% → 80% top-up that adds around 200 miles.

The exact time depends on three things: the charger's max kW, your car's onboard charge rate, and the car's charging curve at the current state of charge. The smaller of the first two sets the ceiling. The curve decides how long the session can sit at that ceiling.

Worked example: Tesla Model Y, 10 → 80%

Modelled using the Model Y's actual charging curve.

Want to calculate for a different car or different start/end SOC? Use the time calculator.

Why "175kW peak" doesn't mean 175kW for the whole session

The car only accepts its peak rate for a short window of the charge — usually between 10% and 35% state of charge, depending on the battery's design. Below that the cells are still cold; above it, the management system tapers the rate to protect the cells.

A 350kW charger plugged into a 400V car that peaks at 175kW only delivers 175kW at best, and only for part of the session. An 800V car like the Kia EV6 or Porsche Taycan can sustain 200kW+ for longer because the architecture is designed for it.

This is why our calculator models the full curve rather than dividing battery size by charger speed — the naive maths gives a number that's typically 30–50% too optimistic.

Why most people only charge to 80%

The charging curve drops steeply above 80%. On many cars the rate from 80–100% is slower than the rate from 0–80%, so it's faster to drive on and stop again rather than wait.

For longer dives, planning a stop to top up from 15% → 70% then continuing is almost always quicker than charging to 100%.