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One sweep of the Internet and it’s not hard to find someone somewhere saying “EVs won’t work until they can be charged in the same time it takes to fill my car with gas.” And while China’s getting there, an executive in the U.S. aren’t so convinced that’s true.
During an interview on The Drivecast Ionna CEO Seth Cutler said, “This idea that charging has to be done in five minutes or people won’t buy EVs is just not accurate.”
Listen to the entire conversation starting at the moment Cutler discusses charging times below.
The reality: “Nobody stops to fuel their vehicle taking gasoline, gets out, rushes as fast as possible, puts as much fuel in the car as possible, and gets back in the car and drives away,” Cutler said.
Cutler noted that, “Some of these gas stations today are more like a restaurant than a gas station. Look at Wawa, Sheetz, Casey’s, Buc-ee’s, Wally’s—these are places people are spending time inside the store. A lot of these places actually make a lot of their money inside the store because that’s where people spend their time.”
Cutler’s receipts for the statement came in the form of, “The proof is in the pudding in that 6% of all cars sold in July were still EVs with the existing current infrastructure set and technology set on the cars.”
If the idea that five-minute charging times is unnecessary the natural question is what does the future of EV charging look like in America? “You’re looking at how do you get to a place of 10 to 20 minutes from the charging speed, which gives you enough time to use a bathroom, get a sandwich, stretch your legs, take the dog for a walk, versus “I’m going to jump out of the car and make believe it’s Supermarket Sweepstakes and see how fast I can fuel up and drive away.” I just don’t think that’s what people are doing,” Cutler said.
Every Ionna station today features 400-kW stations, and in the future the charging company is looking at 500-kW sites, according to Cutler. But if the goal is 10-20 minutes for a quick charge, we are nearly there today. Vehicles with 800-plus-volt electrical systems like the 2026 Volvo EX90, Lucid Gravity, and Hyundai Ioniqs can all recharge from 10-80% in about 20 or less minutes.
Of course, China has touted five-minute recharge times, megawatt charging, and advanced batteries along with low-cost EVs. But in America, after 500-kW, Cutler said,”Much above that, I don’t think you need it. I just don’t.”
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As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.
