Drive 150 km after 5 minutes of charging? It will soon be possible in Lotus

Lotus is working on the Vision80 master plan. In clear Dutch, the deal means that Lotus wants to be an electric car brand by 2028, with its own fast charging stations. And not just any fast chargers: it seems that Lotus wants to blow away the competition when it comes to charging speeds. DC fast chargers will be available in the second quarter of 2024 and should be capable of up to 480 kW.

The Eletre R can charge no less than 142 kilometers in just five minutes at a speed of 450 kW, Lotus said. Although the specifications of this EV say that the maximum charging speed is only 350 kW. That’s okay, because then you can drive 120 kilometers more in five minutes. Like Ionity stations, for example, the charger is liquid cooled.

There are few cars that can handle that much power. The Model S Plaid needs no more than 250 kW and the Taycan 270 kW. The only car we can think of that can handle the payload is the Rimac Nevera. You can charge it with a power of 500 kW. The Lotus fast charger may be a success, because it may be the fastest charger in the Netherlands, although there are hijackers on the coast.

The fastest charger in the Netherlands?

Other major brands that have public fast charging stations in the Netherlands do not come close to Lotus in terms of charging capacity. Tesla’s Supercharger V4 with a maximum of 250 kW, the Ionity and Allego charger with 350 kW and Fastned currently have the most powerful chargers with 400 kW. The only question remains whether Lotus will also install fast charging stations in the Netherlands.

A Lotus spokesperson told TopGear Netherlands that at this time he cannot yet say which European countries will receive the fast chargers. Lotus’ press release says that ‘most of Europe’ will be included. This should bode well, according to a Lotus spokesperson.

By the way, Lotus chargers are not the most powerful in the world. Nio already has a charger in China with a capacity of 500 kW, but in the Netherlands there are now only Nio battery exchange stations. The plan is to introduce these fast chargers in Europe next year in four different countries: Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. So it will be a race to see who can get the fastest charger first.