CHINA. Xpeng to launch S5 supercharger in Q3 that can add over 1 km range on 1-second charge

Xpeng's S5 supercharger delivers up to 800 kW of charging power, enabling vehicles to gain over 300 kilometers of range on a five-minute charge.

(He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's chairman and CEO, reveals the company's upcoming S5 supercharger pile at a technology event on July 30, 2024. Image credit: Xpeng)

Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) will launch its next-generation supercharger later this quarter, which will deliver even faster charging speeds.

Xpeng's latest S5 liquid-cooled supercharging station will come online in the third quarter of 2024 and will deliver up to 800 kW of charging power, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker's chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said at a technology event yesterday.

The S5 supercharger has a maximum output current of 800 A and a maximum output voltage of 1,000 V, enabling a one-second charge for more than one kilometer of range, Mr. He said.

The next-generation supercharger takes less than 13 seconds from plugging in the vehicle to initiating charging, Mr. He said, adding that users will be able to view the latest S5 site information through channels including the Xpeng App and mini-programs

“This means that you can get more than 300 km of range in as little as five minutes of charging, which is very fast and efficient,” Mr. He said at yesterday's event, which was livestreamed online.

Xpeng's current most powerful supercharger is the S4 supercharger, released on August 15, 2022, which the company claims to be able to get 210 km of range in five minutes of charing.

The S4 ultra-fast charger has a maximum power of 480 kW, a maximum current of 670 A and a peak charging power of 400 kW, according to information previously announced by Xpeng.

By the end of July, Xpeng had 1,300 charging stations in operation, including 1,000 supercharging stations, the company said yesterday.

Xpeng is targeting 10,000 self-operated charging stations by 2026, including 4,500 liquid-cooled ultrafast charging stations.

Xpeng's local counterpart Nio (NYSE: NIO) unveiled its fourth-generation battery swap station, next-generation 640-kW superchargers at Nio Day 2023 on December 23.

On June 13, Nio put the first fourth-generation battery swap stations and 640-kW superchargers into operation. The supercharger has a maximum charging power of 640 kW and a maximum output current of 765 A.

For Nio's 100-kWh long range battery packs, the new generation supercharger can charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in 12 minutes.

To date, Nio has 2,306 supercharging stations in China, providing 10,532 chargers, and 1,619 destination charging stations, providing 12,385 chargers. Its signature battery swap stations number 2,458.

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) is also actively building charging facilities in preparation for the launch of more battery electric vehicle (BEV) models next year.

To date, Li Auto has 701 supercharging stations. The company aims to have more than 2,000 supercharging stations by the end of this year and more than 5,000 by the end of 2025