[ UPDATE 01/04/2023 23:00 ] ChargEV’s Kempower chargers at Berjaya Times Square are now open to the public and they cost RM1.20 per kWh as part of its promotional period.
[ UPDATE 22/03/2023 09:00 ] ChargEV’s Berjaya Times Square chargers have been removed from the ChargEV app. It looks like these chargers are still not fully ready for public use.
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ChargeEV’s latest EV charging station at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur is finally online. As teased last month, these are ChargEV’s fastest charger yet which utilises Kempower’s dynamic power-sharing EV charging solution. At the time of writing, these chargers are currently available for free and you can activate them using the ChargEV app.
The new ChargEV chargers are located on the ground floor of Berjaya Times Square. To access the charger, just drive towards the front lobby and the chargers are placed on the right across the main entrance next to the police outpost. There are two Kempower satellite units with a single CCS2 nozzle each.
When no other vehicles are plugged in, the EV charging nozzles can deliver a maximum of 320kW DC fast charging for 800V-based vehicles or a maximum of 200kW for 400V. Take note that not all EVs have the same DC fast charging rate and the peak speeds depend on the vehicle’s maximum DC charging rate as well as the current state of charge. Only vehicles with an 800V electrical architecture such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT would be able to take better advantage of the faster speeds.
When we tested the charger on a Kia EV6, we managed to get a maximum charging rate of 234kW which is similar to what we get with Gentari’s 350kW DC fast charger at X Park Sunway Serene. This makes Berjaya Times Square the fastest EV charging location in downtown Kuala Lumpur and it is also the second mall in the city centre to have a DC fast charger, besides Suria KLCC.
In case you didn’t know, Kempower chargers come with a very useful display which you can tap on it to view the charging curve. This provides EV charging geeks a clearer view of the charging process along with additional details. You can also monitor the charging process remotely by scanning the QR code using your smartphone. The link will open up a web browser that displays your current charging status as well as the charging curve.
Interestingly, while we are using the first charging nozzle, the second nozzle still has the capacity to charge up to 200kW for both 800V and 400kW vehicles. In total, this charging station has at least 400kW of total capacity shared with two nozzles. As a comparison, Gentari’s Kempower charger at Bangi Golf Club only has a maximum capacity of 200kW that’s shared with four nozzles.
During our testing, we managed to charge the EV6 from 36-80% in just 12 minutes and this was done while the vehicle’s air-conditioning was still running. With a total of 36kWh of electricity charged, that’s good enough to provide at least 200km of driving range on the EV6 which is not bad for a quick 12-minute top-up. That’s probably enough time to hook up a charger and grab a quick refreshment from the nearby 7-Eleven.
We still don’t know the commercial charging rates for these new chargers but we reckon it should be based on kWh calculation so that it is fairer for vehicles with lower DC charging capabilities. For example, the BYD Atto 3 standard range model supports up to 70kW while the extended range version supports up to 80kW. Meanwhile, the Mazda MX-30 EV can only support up to 50kW for DC charging.
Assuming ChargEV follows Gentari’s promotional RM1.20/kWh rate for its super-fast chargers, our 12-minute charging session for 36kWh usage would have cost us RM43.20. If ChargEV decides on using a time-based rate of RM4 per minute, we would have to pay RM48 for the 12-minute session.
Our only complaint is the placement of these new chargers. The dedicated charging bays are placed close to the entry point of Berjaya Times Square’s main entrance and are surrounded by several cones. If you’re gonna stop by the sides to remove the cones, you might hold up traffic if there are other vehicles waiting at the sides. Fortunately for us during our usage, there was a guard on standby to assist with the removal of the cones.
Related reading
- Gentari, JomCharge and chargEV sign roaming agreement, access 70% of EV chargers in Malaysia from a single app
- Kempower portable EV charger deployed at Petronas Gambang Eastbound R&R
- ChargEV teases Kempower EV chargers at Berjaya Times Square, its fastest DC charger yet
- Gentari launches Malaysia’s first Dynamic Power Sharing EV charger in Bangi, priced at RM1 per kWh
