Kia Beats Tesla: EV6 Sets Charging Record In Journey Across U.S.

The Kia EV6 spent several hours less on charging on a route from New York City to Los Angeles.

Kia EV6 at a fast charging station

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Nov 17, 2021 at 5:59pm ET

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Kia announced at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show - by the way of unveiling of the Concept EV9 - that its production model, the Kia EV6, beats Tesla in terms of fast charging time on a journey across the United States.

The car has set a new Guinness World Record, traveling 2,880.5 miles (4634.7 km) from New York City to Los Angeles, with the shortest charging time to cross the United States in an electric vehicle.

During the seven-day trek, the Kia EV6 required only 7 hours 10 minutes and 1 second for fast charging, which - according to Kia - beats the previous record holder, Tesla, by more than five and a half hours (12 hours, 48 minutes, and 19 seconds).

Kia notes also that the average charging stop during the journey was less than 20 minutes. That's a really amazing achievement.

Kia EV6 - New York City to Los Angeles - charging:

total distance: 2,880.5 miles (4634.7 km)
total charging time: 7 hours 10 minutes and 1 second
average charging stop: less than 20 minutes
previous record (Tesla): 12 hours, 48 minutes, and 19 seconds
difference: more than five and a half hours

We are not entirely sure, but a quick search in our archives suggest that the previous Tesla record is from 2015, when a Tesla Model S P85D covered the route in 58 hours and 55 minutes, including 12 hours and 48 minutes for charging. The good old days, we would say.

Today's Tesla vehicles charge much faster than then (120 kW). We are actually quite surprised that there were no better results since then - maybe there were, but not certified.

Anyway, the record is a record and Kia EV6 is now #1, waiting for some new challengers.

We can estimate that the car stopped for charging at least 22 times, which would be, on average, once every 131 miles (211 km) or so.

That's probably a distance that allows to charge/discharge within the optimum state-of-charge (SOC) window, when the charging is the fastest. Our early research on Kia EV6 charging indicates that it's one of the fastest charging EVs on the market (see analysis for a pre-production unit).

The Guinness World Record is just more proof confirming the potential of Hyundai Motor Group's E-GMP platform.

It's also important to know that such a result was achievable using the general charging infrastructure (Tesla has its own proprietary Supercharging network in the U.S.). The manufacturer does not mention any particular charging network, but the image hints at Electrify America.

Russell Wager, vice president, marketing, Kia America said:

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“The EV6’s record-setting run is the latest signal that Kia will be a leader in the popularization of electric vehicles. All of Kia’s world-class engineering and experience in electric vehicles will be applied in the move to electrification. The same attention to detail, design, quality, technology and driving dynamics that Kia has become known for will be found in every new electric vehicle we bring to market.”

The Kia EV6 will arrive in showrooms in the U.S. in early 2022 (see details here).

Gallery: 2022 Kia EV6 US Model

2022 Kia EV6 (US)

2022 Kia EV6 (US) 2022 Kia EV6 US Model Rear View