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Charging speeds are an important factor when it comes to choosing the right electric car for you. With new rapid chargers and ultra-rapid chargers becoming increasingly widely available across the UK, electric cars that support rapid charging can help you take advantage of the fastest charging options available to you.
Here, we’ll cover the current fastest charging electric cars available in the UK. Plus we’ll explain what rapid charging actually is, what a maximum rapid charging rate is, and why you won’t always be able to achieve it.
When it comes to understanding EV charging, it’s important to know that not all charge points offer the same charging speeds. Some will be quicker than others, and some much quicker.
Electric car chargers are rated by their power – the amount of kilowatts (kW) they deliver. A three-pin plug at home will offer 3kW, whilst most home electric vehicle chargers provide 7kW of charge.
Rapid EV chargers – most often found at motorway service stations – deliver far higher amounts of power, usually from between 50kW to around 150kW. The latest ultra-rapid chargers can even supply up to 350kW of power, meaning you can fully recharge most electric car batteries in tens of minutes.
However, how quickly you can recharge an electric car doesn’t just depend on the charging power available. It also depends on how quickly your car can accept power – its maximum rapid charging rate.
A car might have a maximum rapid charging rate of 100kW, but it won’t accept charge at that rate throughout a charging session. The speed at which a car’s battery recharges will vary as you charge it, which is called a charge curve.
Each electric car model will have a different charge curve, but almost all recharge slower as the battery fills. With most EVs, the charge rate is fastest when the battery is less than 20% charged, then declines in charge speed as it’s topped up, with the slowest rate of charge after they hit around 80%. This is why you’ll often see charge times given as from 20% battery to 80%, as this usually represents the most typical charge speeds.
Set to be released in 2025, the Lotus Emeya is a stylish Hyper GT, a five-door luxury super saloon grand tourer, and the company’s third electric vehicle.
Not only does the Emeya bring gorgeous looks and cutting-edge tech to the top-end of the EV market, it boasts the fastest charging speed available on the market, up to 400 kW.
Lotus’s first ever SUV, and its second electric car, the striking Eletre is a full-size luxury crossover SUV with a distinctive aerodynamic look.
Whilst the Eletre represents a departure from Lotus’s sportscar heritage, it’s packed with technology, offers a super drive, and a lightning quick charge rate of 350 kW. An SUV from Lotus may come as a surprise, but the Eletre is very much the Lotus of SUVs.
Bringing high-performance sports car driving to electric cars – plus Porsche’s famous styling – the Porsche Taycan offers impressively fast charging on top of its outstanding performance.
With its 800-volt architecture, Porsche Taycan models can reach maximum charging speeds of up to 320 kW. In ideal conditions, a Taycan can add around 100 miles of range in just a few minutes of charging.
Audi is becoming an increasingly big player in electric cars, and the e-tron GT is a superb flagship model, combining both the brand’s signature styling and famed performance.
The Audi e-tron GT shares its platform with the Porsche Taycan (above), and also benefits from an 800-volt system, enabling a similar maximum charging speed of up to 320kW. Audi claims it takes just 23 minutes to charge a battery from 5% to 80%.
Electric cars have come on leaps and bounds in recent years, and the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N is the absolute epitome of this. On the one hand, it’s a comfortable and economic electric family hatchback. But on the other, it offers speedy performance and responsive handling in its Sport mode, plus simulated gear changes, and full-throated simulated driving noises with its N Active Sound+ system.
The IONIQ 5 N also features an 800-volt charging architecture, allowing for a maximum rapid charging rate of up to 263kW, with a claimed charge from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes at an ultra-rapid DC charger.
A sleek looking, all-wheel drive crossover utility vehicle, the Kia EV6 GT delivers impressive performance, with a 0-62 mph acceleration time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 162 mph. The EV6 GT combines that with a spacious, practical interior and a range of up to 263 miles.
Sharing its platform with the Hyundai IONIQ 5 range (above), the Kia EV6 GT boasts similar fast charging capabilities, with a maximum charging rate of up to 258kW available.
A mid-size sedan with a fastback body style, the Tesla Model 3 was the first EV to sell more than 1 million models globally. The Model 3 Performance combines Tesla’s unique look with excellent performance. It accelerates from 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds, with a top speed of 163 mph.
As well on that impressive turn of speed, the Tesla Model 3 Performance offers a maximum charging rate of up to 250 kW, adding up to 175 miles of range in 15 minutes.
Hyundai’s second car made under its IONIQ sub-brand for EVs, the Hyundai IONIQ 6 Long Range is a mid-sized fastback sedan and arguably the best looking car Hyundai have ever launched. Updated in 2025, the IONIQ 6 Long Range offers an impressive estimated range of up to 361 miles.
The IONIQ 6 shares many components with the excellent IONIQ 5 N SUV, delivering a similar charging performance, with a rapid-charging rate of up to 233 kW.
The luxury brand of Hyundai and Kia, Genesis cars are a high-performance, luxurious range of vehicles available with both petrol and electric engines.
The Genesis Electrified G80 is a five-door executive sedan that delivers an excellent driving experience and refined styling. It’s a car packed with features that very much takes aim at the traditional luxury sedan market. With a maximum ultra-rapid charging rate of 233 kW, it can take as little as 21 minutes to charge a G80 from 10% to 80%.
In many ways the most significant electric car ever launched, even more so than the Roadster, the Tesla Model S hit the market back in 2012 as the world’s first all-electric saloon. The Model S was instrumental in proving that electric cars can offer competitive performance, with impressive acceleration and handling, all in a sleek, sporty body.
The Tesla Model S Performance has been updated since it first hit the road, with an improved maximum charging rate of 218 kW – that’s around 30 minutes to charge a Model S from 10% to 80% percent.
When it comes to electric cars that offer rapid battery charging, you’ve plenty of options. Whether you’re looking for performance, practicality or style, you don’t have to sacrifice the time you spend charging.
When choosing an electric car that’s right for your needs, charging speed is important, but not the only factor you should consider. You’ll find comprehensive, impartial electric car reviews at Green Car Guide, plus buying guides, news, and in-depth features on the fastest charging electric cars and more.
When choosing an electric car that’s right for your needs, charging speed is important, but not the only factor you should consider. You’ll find comprehensive, impartial electric car reviews at Green Car Guide, plus buying guides, news, and in-depth features on the fastest charging electric cars and more.
