May 18 (Nikkei) - Hyundai Motor's latest electric vehicle that hit the Japanese market this month can travel 220 km on a five-minute charge, a far cry from the lengthy charging Japanese EVs require using low-output chargers.
Hyundai Motor's Ioniq 5 went on the market last year in South Korea, Europe and North America before making its Japanese debut. The carmaker's flagship EV crossover can support a fast charger with an output of 350 kW.
Charging the Ioniq 5 "feels almost like refueling a gas engine car," said Ken Sato at subsidiary Hyundai Mobility Japan.
Tesla has pioneered the art of fast-charging EVs. In 2019, the U.S. manufacturer developed a 250 kW charger for the Model 3, giving the car a 275 km range on a 15 minute charge, according to Tesla.
Porsche outdid Tesla in 2020 by introducing the Taycan EV with a peak charging power of 270 kW. The car can travel for 100 km on a four-and-a-half-minute charge, Porsche says. Audi, Porsche's sister company under the Volkswagen brand, also unveiled an EV in 2021 that can charge on a 270 kW output.
Japanese automakers offer EVs with drastically lower charging capacities than imports. Last Thursday, Nissan Motor rolled out the all-new standard version of the Ariya, its flagship crossover EV. But the model only works with a peak charging output of 130 kW and a 375 km driving range is said to require about 30 minutes of charging.
That same day, Toyota Motor launched a domestic subscription service for its bZ4X sport utility vehicle, the company's first all-electric offering for the mass market. Models for the Japanese and British markets are compatible with 150 kW chargers. ...continue reading
