The electric vehicle (EV) market has seen exponential growth in recent years. Driven by policies promoting environmental sustainability and increased customer demand, battery electric and hybrid powertrains have accelerated into the mainstream. According to JATO Volumes data, in the last four years alone, battery electric vehicle (BEV) global market share has increased from 2.1% in Q1 of 2020 to 12.5% in 2024. When including all hybrid powertrains, electric vehicles accounted for 18% of all vehicle sales in Q1 2024.
As OEMs battle to bring the best electric powertrains to the market quickly, technology in the industry has diversified at a speed never seen before. While this rapid development has rightly been celebrated, it has also created new challenges for both automakers and consumers. With no industry standard for EV reporting, and a growing number of hybrid and electric vehicles available, gaps and inconsistencies across official data have made it increasingly challenging to compare the charging times of competitor vehicles.
Industry data gaps and differences
BEV and hybrid charging information varies significantly across different manufacturers. Unlike the standardised fuel gauges of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, EVs’ state of charge (SoC) and time-to-charge is presented using a range of metrics, formats and information levels. These variations complicate direct comparisons across EVs.
Different automakers publish charging rates based on different criteria. Some OEMs publish the maximum battery KWh value, others publish a useable KWh figure, and other brands are choosing not to publish any official figures for battery capacity. This makes it difficult to compare charging information like-for-like.
Alongside this, charging speed and infrastructure influence charging information, creating even less clarity. Across the different charging modes and automaker publication data, there are many variations. JATO captures this information and reports it in its data structure, for example:
- Mode 3: State of charge (SoC) typically ranges from 0% to 100%, but some automakers publish between 10% to 100%.
- Mode 3: Charging rates vary by OEM, depending on the on-board charger capacity, which determines the AC input limit.
- Mode 4: SoC typically ranges from 10% to 80%, but other combinations, like 20% to 80%, are also published by automakers.
- Mode 4: Charging rates vary by OEM, with data ranging from 50kW typically to over 200kW. Each vehicle has a specific DC input limit.
Confusion, inefficiencies, and lack of clarity
The gaps and variations throughout EV data has created confusion and inefficiencies in the automotive industry and beyond. Differences in technology, a range of charging modes, and the absence of an industry standard for publishing charging information make it difficult to compare vehicle charging durations across OEMs with accuracy.
For automotive businesses, lack of data makes product comparison, competitive benchmarking, and successful positioning more difficult. Without a clear market view, industry-wide innovation can slow, with benefits communicated less effectively. This has a knock-on effect on consumers, who may find it more difficult to understand and compare the options available to them.
Standardising vehicle charging
To address the lack of industry-wide information, JATO has developed calculated charging information. This series of calculations developed by JATO provides consistently calculated theoretical charging durations based on reported charge requirements (battery kWh) and pre-defined Mode 3 and Mode 4 charging scenarios.
The data focuses on charging intervals where linearity – with an acceptable deviation - can be determined at selected charging rates.
The calculations use the information provided by various automotive brands to calculate the time to charge, and include an approximation of the efficiency losses that could influence charging. Factors considered in the calculations include charging cable specifications, temperature and other environmental factors, and battery density.
From this information, JATO is able to provide standardised and comparable charging durations for pre-defined scenarios, enabling customers to compare electric powertrains on a like-for-like basis and providing transparency in the automotive market. Our data scientists regularly review this information to keep our data as relevant as possible.
In addition to this, we categorise the different types of electrification so that like-for-like comparisons can be made more easily. This includes battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).
The data can be used for both operational analysis and in customer-facing comparison tools. Contact us to find out how your business could use standardised charging information data.
