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Super-speedy 800V charging won’t just be reserved for luxury EVs in the near future. As part of a roadmap outlining its next wave of electrification, Kia has revealed (via Autoblog) that some of its upcoming EVs will boast an 800V charging capacity — and not just in the high-end models. Instead, the architecture will be put into play when it “most closely matches” the usage expected from a given vehicle. You may see it in a coupe or a brawny sedan, but “cost-conscious buyers” and others driving more modest rides will have to make do with 400V.
As with 800V in vehicles like the Porsche Taycan and Audi’s upcoming E-Tron GT, the gains should be dramatic when you’re plugged into the right charger. Kia is aiming for top-ups under 20 minutes even as it provides a range over 310 miles. That’s still far slower than a gas pump, but it’s quick enough that you can make a reasonably short pit stop and expect to come back to a full charge.
The automaker didn’t say exactly which cars were in the pipeline. It expects to sell 11 models around the world by 2025, and its first new-generation EV (the production Imagine) is due in 2021. Kia is moving at full speed with its transition away from gas engines, then, and the pandemic doesn’t appear to have disrupted its long-term plans.
