Tesla now charges more slowly than a Renault van

The new Renault Trafic electric, with its 800-volt architecture, charges faster than a Tesla Model Y. Yes, you read that right.

We thought we’d seen everything in the electric world: sedans that accelerate harder than a supercar, SUVs that think they’re rockets, and even pickups that crab-walk. But one chapter was still missing from this saga: the one where a French commercial vehicle gives a lesson in charging speed to the Californian stars.

Because yes, it happened: the new Renault Trafic Van E-Tech Electric charges its battery faster than a Tesla. And it’s not even a joke. Well… a bit. But not entirely.

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• 18/11/2025 14:12

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Thanks to its 800-volt architecture — a first for Renault, and even more so on a commercial vehicle — the new Trafic electric fills its battery quickly and efficiently. On a fast DC charger, it only takes about twenty minutes to recover roughly 260 km of range.

Meanwhile, a Tesla Model Y Propulsion will probably watch good old Renault Trafic with a mix of surprise and jealousy. Because to reach the same charge level, it will sometimes need a few more minutes. Not a lot, admittedly, but enough to say the French van might be ready to leave before the American SUV limited to a 175 kW peak charging power. More like 120 kW in practice.

We hadn’t seen the day coming when the Trafic would become the new unit of measurement for charging speed. The most delicious part is that Renault didn’t even mean to troll Tesla. The brand simply wanted to make life easier for tradespeople, couriers and other professionals whose time, too, is money.

The commercial-vehicle world: a new technological El Dorado?

This electric Trafic has a sense of showmanship: a futuristic design, a concept-car-like light signature, a digital cockpit with a 12-inch screen… and now charging speed worthy of the most expensive electric cars on the market. It’s the Tesla Cybertruck, but done right.

Needless to say, Elon Musk probably hadn’t planned that one day, by a French motorway lay-by, a white van loaded with pallets and drills would finish charging before his premium sedan.

The message is clear: in electric mobility, charging speed is no longer reserved for geek cars. Even commercial vehicles are getting in on it. And frankly, we love this reshuffling of the deck.

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