Did Nissan lie about the charging speed of its Ariya electric car?

On paper, the Nissan Ariya promises a 20-80% recharge in just 30 minutes. But in fact, the electric car takes a little longer. Communication operation or real technical restriction?

Today, most manufacturers have at least one electric car in their range, while the market accelerates and internal combustion vehicles will be banned in Europe in a few years. But for sales to grow further, even though they already overtook diesel in France in December, there are still areas for improvement. The charging infrastructure, but also the autonomy of the cars, which is still insufficient for many motorists.

a big discrepancy

But that’s not all, because since it is not yet possible to travel 1,000 kilometers in one go, even though some cars come close, such as the Lucid Air, it is important to limit the time spent in the terminal. That is what the youtuber Bjørn Nyland intends to demonstrate, who measures the time necessary for several electric cars to travel a distance of a thousand kilometers.

This is, in particular, the reason why manufacturers are working on the development of batteries capable of withstanding high recharge powers, while equipment manufacturers are designing ever faster terminals. We are thinking specifically of Nio and its 500 kW sockets or even Circontrol and its 400 kW in Spain. For now, the charging time record is at Kia and Hyundai, with EV6 and Ioniq 5 capable of go from 10 to 80% in just 18 minutes thanks to its 800 volt architecture.

Nowadays, it usually takes about half an hour to fill the battery to 80%. With 30 minutes full battery announced on paper, the Nissan Ariya is therefore in the correct average. But be careful, because as the site explains challenges, the brand is 20 to 80% communicated, which really doesn’t change much, especially since journalists have been able to test this data. Y it only took 29 minutes to reach 80% from 20%, compared to 33 minutes from 10%.

But there is a small setback, which other media have also been able to notice during their tests, including the site. automotive cleaning. In fact, if the display SOC (short for Scharge statusdesignating the pressure gauge indicating the charge level) indicated 99%, took a thirty more minutes for the delivered power to drop to 3 kWwhich means the charge is complete.

next update

Doing some calculations, journalists from challenges therefore I come to a charging time of 34 minutes to go from 20 to 80%due to this discrepancy. In any case, this will still be imperceptible to most clients who rarely recharge more than 80%. Especially since according to a report by Enedis, 85% of electric car owners plug in their vehicle at home, especially at night. But then, is this discrepancy a way to cheat the numbers?

Not according to Nissan, which was quick to deny the rumor. The manufacturer explains in the columns of the site that ” the actual SOC depends on the safety pads necessary for battery protection in all conditions. For example, the battery never discharges to its true zero. We have a similar buffer at high SOCs, for battery protection and management purposes.« .

All builders have similar safety devices, but in other cases, then it is not possible to use this buffer, which is the difference between the gross and net capacity of a battery. However, it is possible to recharge the Nissan Ariya battery to its maximum useful capacity. Therefore, the manufacturer’s explanation seems to be a bit flawed.

Fortunately, the issue, which shouldn’t really bother customers, should be resolved soon. In fact, the electric SUV will benefit from an update, likely to be done remotely, to correct it. Therefore, the indicator must announce an exact value and it will not be higher than reality. According to automotive cleaningthe Ariya would then have 78 kWh usable between 0 and 99%for a total capacity of 87 kWh.

After long months of waiting, we were able to get behind the wheel of the Nissan Ariya near Stockholm, Sweden. Discover our first hands-on experience with the new Japanese electric SUV.
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