The Lucid Air is indeed the fastest-charging electric vehicle

Future rival of the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan, the Lucid Air promises the fastest charging on the market. An expert journalist verified it.

Range and charging time remain two of the main obstacles to electric vehicle adoption for many drivers. Some manufacturers are exploring hydrogen fuel cells or battery swapping which allow for a full refuel in less than 5 minutes.

But advances in ultra-fast charging might make these alternatives unnecessary, as demonstrated by the Lucid Air. This luxury electric sedan, a competitor to the Tesla Model S, Porsche Taycan, and Mercedes EQS, claims the best charging speed on the market, along with the best range. Independent journalist Tom Moloughney, a charging specialist, specifically tested it for his “State of Charge” show on YouTube.

Plug & charge!

Tom Moloughney borrowed a Lucid Motors Air Dream Edition to test, as usual, the 0 to 100% charging. He went to an Electrify America station, the American equivalent of Ionity or Fastned, which also offers chargers delivering up to 350 kW.

Arriving at a nearly dead battery with “0%”, he first confirmed the proper functioning of Plug & Charge technology. This standard allows electric cars to recharge without using a badge or other payment method. The station identifies the car via the cable and automatically bills the owner. The Lucid Air is the third compatible vehicle on the market, after the Porsche Taycan and the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Tesla uses similar proprietary technology on its Superchargers.

500 km of range in less than 30 minutes

He then confirmed that the Lucid Air charges at 300 kW. Up to 304 kW, in fact, during the first few minutes after starting the charge. The charging power gradually declines after 15%, but remains at 170 kW at 50%, after only 16 minutes, and drops below 100 kW only at 75%. The Lucid sedan thus goes from 0 to 80% in 37 minutes, a charge level at which it still recharges at 84 kW, compared to 70 kW for the Tesla Model S Plaid and 54 kW for the Porsche Taycan.

This proves, if any more were needed, that it’s rarely relevant to charge to 100% on the road; however, it takes 45 minutes to go from 80% to 100%. After 1 hour 22 minutes, the station delivered 134 kWh to fill a battery with a usable capacity of 118 kWh, resulting in an energy efficiency of 88%.

But the key point is that the Lucid Air Dream Edition went from 20% to 80%, a more typical usage range for road trips, in 31 minutes 30 seconds. It could probably have done it in just under 30 minutes if charging had begun at 20%, without starting from 0 to 20%. Such a charge adds 312 miles of EPA range (502 km) and costs about $7 in Texas (0.24 $/min) or $25 in California (0.31 $/kWh).

Lucid Air in Europe in 2022

The Lucid Air Dream Edition is indeed the fastest-charging electric car to date. This is thanks to its 900 V battery voltage, slightly higher than the 800 V of other ultra-fast charging vehicles like the Porsche Taycan or Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Tom Moloughney also confirmed in a second video and a second article that it reaches 500 miles (800 km) at 70 mph (110 km/h) on the highway.

As of the latest information, in August 2021, the Lucid Air was scheduled to go on sale in Germany in 2022, followed by Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Also read: How Ford plans to charge electric cars in 5 minutes