CharonPDX
Well-Known Member
There are 800V vehicles that only charge at the same kW rating as the Rivian at 400V. (Kia EV6/Hyundai Ioniq 5/Genesis GV60 top out at 230 kW, barely more than the 225 kW I've seen my Rivian take.) The Hyundai Group vehicles are small efficient crossovers, so that 225 kW is a *huge* amount of miles-added-per-minute, compared to the relatively inefficient (due to being a big powerful truck) Rivian, which at the same kW-input rate is adding fewer miles.I'd be shocked if it's anything but, in particular the 800v bit given the huge battery. Charging 180kwh on 400v could be painful. In fact, I suspect they are related, and the delay is owing to expected completion of the dual motor/Enduro development (all dual motor also now 2024). The in house motors are more compact, providing more room for batteries.
800V alone doesn't make for a faster charging experience. That said, because we know Rivian has experience with battery packs capable of accepting 500 Amps, there's a good bet that a Rivian 800V system might get a full 350 kW.
On top of that, it only even really helps at 350kW stations. My first towing trip with my R1T I had a painful experience stopping at a 50kW station. An 800V architecture wouldn't have helped there. (Or even a 150 kW station. Although a max pack R1T would have given me enough extra range while towing to make it to a 350 kW station.)
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