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Kia EV2 due in 2026 as £25,000 electric city car (autocar.co.uk)
2 points by peutetre 7 months ago | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments



> in part to keep costs down, and this version is also likely to be used for the EV2. As a result, it wouldn’t be capable of ultra-fast charging, although this is unlikely to be a major requirement of family buyers travelling shorter distances.

A family might not *need* ultra-fast but plenty - for peace of mind - will likely *want* it. If only cause why not. If only cause faster is better than slower, etc.

It would take a single competitor to say, "Ultra-fast charging because life happens and family emergencies are real..."

Finally, it should also be mentioned that charging speed has a direct effect on capacity of the charging station network. The slower a vehicle charges, the less vehicles you can charge. Put another way, slower charging likely means more charging stations, and there is cost and eco-impact from those as well.


Most fast charging stations can’t do 800V ultra fast charging anyway. Even here in Norway, in the region of the world with one of the highest densities of fast charges, I had to actively hunt around to find a charger that could take my Hyundai Ioniq 5 over 200kW.

Even when they build a 200kW charger they will usually put in several 100/150kW chargers. So I don’t think your point about capacity of charging station network is valid. We’re also starting to see some concepts where a certain capacity is just shared among a bunch of cables. At my local supermarket I can get 150kW if I’m the only one charging or 75kW if there’s another car there. So if you charge slower it just releases capacity for others charging at the same time.

Anyway, I suspect any desire for ultra fast charging will mainly be for first time EV buyers. I did have to fast charge my old Kia Soul EV a lot. But our Ioniq 5 I’ve never in two years fast charged other than to test how fast I could get it to charge in the month after we got it.

Even did a whole road trip through Denmark without anything but destination charging.

150kW charging and 60kWh is what I think would be enough for most people, if they have overnight charging at/near home. Not to be dismissive that some people have a real need for more.


From 12th October 2023




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