China is starting to measure EV charging times in seconds, not minutes

Electric car charging in China is moving fast enough that automakers now brag about seconds, not just minutes. New batteries from BYD, Geely, and CATL can take a car from a low charge to nearly full in around 4 minutes, and one from FAW does it in 3 minutes and 41 seconds. These speeds only work with matching high-power chargers, and BYD alone plans to have 20,000 of its fastest chargers installed in China by the end of the year, with Europe now getting some of this tech too.

In the US, the fastest charging cars on the market are Hyundai and Kia models that take about 18 minutes for a similar charge, and a very expensive, limited-production Mercedes EV coming soon will cut that to around 11 minutes. Nothing here approaches China's sub-4-minute pace, largely because the charging hardware needed to deliver that much power isn't widely deployed. Federal programs meant to speed up charger buildout in the US have also faced delays and funding fights, which has slowed progress further.

For a homeowner thinking about an EV, this mostly affects road-trip charging stops rather than daily life, since most home charging happens overnight regardless of how fast public chargers are. But it's a sign that public charging could keep getting faster overseas while the US lags, so if fast charging away from home matters to you, it is worth checking what charging speeds and networks are actually available in your area before buying.