Hybrid and Electric Car Charging

If you’re interested in hybrid or electric vehicles, you may be wondering – how long does it take to charge electric cars? This is a perfectly valid question, of course, as you need to know the practicalities of the vehicle you’re buying, including charging times and how long a vehicle can travel without needing an energy top-up.

At Swansway Group, we’re here to answer your questions, so here are some important details to help with your buying journey.

Hybrids you don’t need to plug in

Firstly, it’s important to realise that many regular hybrids don’t need to be plugged in at all – such as the all-new Honda CR-V Hybrid. So, if you don’t want to fuss around with power cables or travel long distances and are worried about running out of charge, this could be the right option for you.

How long will it take to charge my electric car?

How long it takes for your EV to be charged will depend largely on the size of your battery and which kind of charging station you decide to use.

Charging speeds are an essential part of using and charging an electric car. The charger’s speed will depend on how many kilowatts (kW) it can provide - the higher the number the faster the charging speed.

In the UK there is the option of Rapid, Fast and Slow chargers;

• Rapid is the quickest, and delivers a charge of up to 150kW, though 43kW and 50kW are the most popular. They’ll be able to charge most electric cars to 80 per cent in between 30 minutes to an hour. Some cars such as the Nissan LEAF are not compatible with rapid charging as they must be charged at a maximum of 3.7kW. There are also different plug connectors: Type 1 and Type 2 and the charging point must match the connector.
• Fast chargers are anything which delivers between 7kW and 22kW, and will take around 3-4 hours to top up an EV and fully replenish the battery.. These are great for overnight stops or for longer periods away from the car when a rapid charge isn’t needed. A 7kW charge is also what you’ll get from a home charger.
• A slow charger is anything up to 3kW, so essentially a three-pin socket. These are only really useful for when you can leave the car for an extended period of time, as via this charging source it’ll take many hours - and possibly days - to fully charge a modern EV, depending on the size of battery of course. Slow charging with a 3kW rate can take between 8-14 hours.