Current battery and charging technology make refueling an electric car significantly longer than filling up a traditional gasoline-powered car at the pump, which is Porsche has been actively working to improve this with its upcoming Tesla riva: the Taycan.
In a recent interview with publication Welt am Sonntag (via Bloomberg) the automaker revealed that it has made significant progress in cutting the time spent at the charger, enabling the Taycan to add up to 62 miles of driving range in just four minutes.
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume says that its charging is so fast that the Taycan will gain up to 62 miles (100 kilometers) of range in just four minutes, or an equally impressive 248 miles of charge (400 km) in less than 20 minutes. Though this certainly isn’t as speedy as filling up at the pump, four minutes to gain 62 miles of range is nothing to gawk at.
Using its 800-volt, ultra-fast chargers, Porsche is able to provide a charge significantly faster than other automakers currently on the market. Fast charging the Taycan using Porsche’s chargers provides a constant 350 kilowatts of power to the car. In comparison, the current fast-charging network king, Tesla, can deliver up to 120 kW at its Superchargers, though Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that its next-generation Supercharging platform will close the gap. Porsche has partnered with Audi, BMW, Daimler, and Ford to begin rolling out a fast charging network and overcome its own charging density shortcomings.
Blume also briefly spoke about Porsche’s goals with future battery technology. Though he estimates that the tech is roughly a decade from market release, the German automaker expects to squeeze around 620 miles (1,000 km) out of a single charge with even less time at the plug.
Other manufacturers have joined in with similar claims in the past; Panasonic (Tesla’s main battery partner) provided a similar timeframe for market fruition earlier this month. Volkswagen also recently invested $100 million into a solid-state battery startup to ready its offerings ahead of launching even its first generation EV platform.