This Chinese electric SUV can charge almost as fast as fuelling up a petrol vehicle

GAC Aion is an electric car company in the Chinese market that is boasting some impressive figures with their new charging technology. Expected to be released this September, this technology has different versions with varying charging speeds: 6C and 3C. The 6C high-rate version was shown to charge from 0-80% in only eight minutes and 30-80% in just five minutes. Moreover, it still draws 481kW from the charger even when the car is at 80% charge. The 3C model is not as fast, going from 0-80% in 16 minutes and 30-80% in 10 minutes.

These numbers are still very impressive compared to the rest of the market. A Tesla Model 3 takes about half an hour to charge from 10-80% on a 120kW Supercharger and more than an hour to charge the same amount on a 50kW rapid charger. Many popular EVs take a while to fully charge and that’s one of the drawbacks of electric cars in general. With new technology like this being made and more high wattage chargers being implemented around the world, electric vehicles will definitely be more attractive for new buyers.

Launched last year, the GAC Aion V will be the first model that will equip this new charging system, with 3C and 6C versions both having 500km of range. GAC has been pushing boundaries with the Aion V, equipping it with a Huawei Baron 5000 chip, making it the first mass-produced car with a 5G chip.

To actually power these fast charging cars, GAC said they would lay out more than 100 super-fast charging stations this year. As for concerns about battery life, the battery of the 6C variant has the lifespan to deliver 1 million kilometres of mileage even when fast charging year-round.

During a demonstration, the charger showed that the charging power output was still extremely high at 481kW when it was at 80% charge. When the charging stats reached 855.6V and 562.8A, the vehicle could draw 35.1kWh in just four minutes.

These numbers are still not confirmed yet as the car has not been independently tested, but it does look very promising and we hope to see some more tests done when it comes out next month.

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