Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake: fastest EV for adding range per minute of charging
mercedes-benz.com
A new ranking measures how many kilometres of range EVs add per minute of fast charging. The Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake 250+ comes out on top, ahead of the BMW i3 50 xDrive.
The Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake 250+ has been named the most efficient EV for quick stops on a long trip. With an average charging rate of 235 kW and consumption of 15 kWh/100 km, it theoretically adds more than 26 km of range per minute. But the result only holds under the stated scenario: a speed of 110 km/h, charging from 10% to 80%, and no energy losses factored in.
BMW i3 50 xDrive took second place with 25.2 km per minute. Its advantage lies elsewhere: its estimated real-world range reaches 715 km against 565 km for the Mercedes. The CLA charges from 10% to 80% in 16 minutes, the BMW in 21 minutes — a result of its larger 108.7 kWh battery.
Next came the Xpeng P7+ Standard Range, Hyundai Ioniq 6, Audi A6 e-tron, Lucid Air Pure and BMW i4. The Xpeng is cheaper than the rest of the field — from €46,600 in Germany — and charges in 12 minutes, but its real-world range is estimated at just 375 km. The Hyundai, with 545 km of range, needs 18 minutes.
There’s an important nuance here. According to EV Database’s own table, the CLA’s rate is 1,480 km/h, or about 24.7 km per minute, while the BMW’s is 1,430 km/h, or 23.8 km. Those figures are lower than the ranking’s numbers, since a simple calculation from kW and consumption doesn’t capture every loss and charging condition. The database also flags the effect of temperature, battery condition and charger power.
So the CLA’s first place is fair within the chosen formula. For a real road trip, battery size, winter consumption and access to a station that can reliably deliver 350–500 kW matter just as much.
