How Long To Charge My New EV?

Charging my new electric vehicle – how long will it take?

A big thank you to our personal leasing customer, from Sheffield, for the fantastic photos of their new electric car – the Tesla Model 3. Without a doubt, the  Tesla Model 3  has been the leading electric option to lease in the UK since 2020; this has also been a consistent best-seller.

While this might not seem impressive, when you consider the growth of electric cars month on month, you do get some sense of just how influential the Tesla brand has been for the EV revolution. As you will see below, from the  SMMT  , there were nearly 36,000 vehicles in EV/PHEV/HEV format registered in May. Quite a stark contrast from the May 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, when the total of amount of car registrations fell below this!

Year to date, the Tesla Model 3 has fallen out of the best-sellers list, with the Vauxhall Corsa now leading by some considerable margin at 20,000+. However, it will be very interesting to see the June statistics for the Tesla, and electric vehicles as a whole, based on how Tesla organise deliveries. So do Tesla not have cars in stock or showrooms? Their approach is somewhat different from what will be accustomed to the UK.

Tesla do have physical premises for customers to view cars but these experience centres (stores) are not there to hold masses of stock in the same traditional way as we see across other car dealerships. Much of the work for Tesla is done via their online procurement journey with Tesla directly or via a specialised electric car leasing broker, like e-Car Lease. The customer, or our team, will order the vehicle and this will be allocated according to the shipment which is due to the UK. What happens with Tesla is that vehicles arrive from the USA or China on cargo shipments and will be allocated to the customer directly or via one of the various experience centres across the UK.

For example, the Trafford Centre is now our local store and customers can organise to collect their new vehicle directly from the team there. More recently, masses of vehicles arrived in June 2021 for delivery to customers, which means that Tesla will experience large car registration volumes compared to April or May. The proof will very much be in the June statistics, as we know that many of the Standard and Long Range vehicles are now sold out. Our prediction is that the Model 3 Tesla will be a June best-selling car in the UK!

Do I need a charge point at home?  

So should I get a charge point for my new EV? For most customers who are new to an electric vehicle, they will often ask about how to charge the car/when to charge the car/charge times for the car. This is very common and we are adept at resolving any potential concerns a customer may have. If you do have a property with a drive, or separate access to an area where you can charge, then organising a charge point is without a doubt the most practical option to go ahead with.

Additionally, the Government will offer up to £350 in grant towards a charge point at your home or business address. This used to be £500 but the Government is now restricting the amount of money it applies to charge points and new EVs, so making a decision to change now is well within your interests financially. Which charge point should I get? This is something which is continuing to develop in the UK and there are a range of good charge point manufacturers now available to the customer – Pod Point, Andersen EV, ChargePoint, Rolec EV, Ohme, Wallbox, Tesla, MyEnergi – to name but a few!

For local customers in Manchester and Liverpool, we now have our own charge point installation business (Triangle Electrical) so we can arrange this for you with your new car. Alternatively, you can approach these companies directly and they will assist you with the paperwork and installation process. Each charge point will have different features which you may need, for example smart features, solar integration, leads included or just aesthetically pleasing. As with anything, the prices range with charge points, so you could pay from £500 – £1500 for a domestic charging unit plus the cost of installation. Can I get a charge point included in the cost of my lease with e-Car Lease? Absolutely. Just ask our team before you sign for your car for this to be included.

Will charging my EV take a long time?

Charging times are something which customers should review and, indeed, these are more important than the vehicle’s range in our opinion. Each EV will have a different charging time; there is no set-time for charging an EV. Fundamentally the charging times are based on a) what charge point you are connected to; and b) the charging speed of the car. There are a number of different charge points you can connect to but in the simplest way possible, there are two types of charge points you can utilise – AC or DC.

The AC, or Alternating Current, is something you will see with your home charge point i.e. 7.4kW AC. Every EV will have an “onboard charger” which converts the AC input into DC (Direct Current) and each “onboard charger” will be limited to a specific AC speed. Looking at the Tesla here, the maximum charging time AC is 11kW, as this is the maximum speed of the onboard charger. If you connect this is a rapid AC unit, which is 22kW, the car would not charge any quicker. Some EVs charge at 7.4, 11 or 22kW AC.

In the same way the DC charging options, which are often called rapid or fast charging solutions, have different speeds. There are various brands of rapid charge points across the UK which you will see at service stations, petrol stations and other destinations. For a more detailed view on your local charging infrastructure, just head to  Zap Map  . Taking the Model 3 example here, this vehicle can charge at around 190kW DC as a maximum. So again, this means that if you connect it to a faster 350kW or 500kW DC charging point, the car will not charge any quicker than its maximum threshold. The key to understanding an EV is to ask your dealership or leasing broker, what is the maximum rate of charging on the vehicle and then use this to workout the charging times. We have a  handy charge time calculator for all EVs.