Consumers are concerned with two main things when shopping for an EV: range and charging speed. Naturally, everyone would like both to be as high as possible.
There are several models that offer both high driving range and charging speed, but as you can imagine, they don't come cheap. According to a new charging report from consulting firm P3 Group, the Lucid Air Grand Touring tops both categories, offering the most range and highest charging speed among all EVs sold in the US.
Priced at $139,650 including destination fees, the Lucid Air Grand Touring achieved the most range during a 20-minute charging session: 208 miles. That's the top charging metric among the 13 EVs on sale in the US analyzed in the report, and it's largely thanks to the Air's 800-volt battery architecture and efficiency. The Lucid Air GT also offers the highest EPA-estimated range of 516 miles from a 112-kilowatt-hour battery pack (usable capacity).
The $109,880 Tesla Model S Plaid ranked second in the study, charging 193 miles in 20 minutes. The Tesla's performance is remarkable considering that it uses a 400-volt battery architecture. The electric performance sedan has an EPA-estimated range of 396 miles courtesy of a 95-kWh battery.
While the Lucid Air GT and Tesla Model S Plaid are out of reach for most US consumers, the vehicle that ranked third is much more affordable. We're talking about the $43,920 Kia EV6 Long Range RWD, which charged 191 miles in 20 minutes – only 17 miles less than the winner that costs almost $100,000 more.
The EV6 owes this great result to the E-GMP platform's 800-volt battery architecture. The Korean EV has an EPA-estimated range of 310 miles from a 74-kWh battery pack.
These three models were far ahead of the other EVs included in the analysis. The Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD was fourth with 169 recharged miles in 20 minutes, followed by the Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD with 161 miles in 20 minutes. These two models topped the Tax Credit eligible category.
Interestingly, while the Lucid Air Grand Touring got the greatest range from a 20-minute fast charge, the Kia EV6 LR RWD achieved the greatest range in a 10-minute charge – 127 miles versus 124 for the Lucid and 123 for the Tesla.
P3 Group's report included 13 EVs tested on Electrify America 350-kilowatt chargers and Tesla Superchargers – only the Model S Plaid, Model 3 LR AWD, and Model Y LR AWD – in San Francisco from April 3 to 16.
Besides the aforementioned models, the list included the BMW iX xDrive50, BMW i4 eDrive40, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150 Lightning 4WD Extended Range, Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor, Porsche Taycan GTS, Rivian R1T, and Volkswagen ID.4 Pro.
All of the vehicles were preconditioned before charging. P3's report did not include data on charger uptime or reliability. You can learn much more about the DC fast charging sessions performed by P3 Group by checking out the full report.
As a conclusion for its 2023 P3 Charging Index United States, P3 Group said the industry should focus on battery conditioning and efficiency and improved charging power to increase EV adoption.
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Source: P3 Group via Automotive News