Initially, most electric vehicles used a 400 V high-voltage on-board voltage, as this made it easier to integrate charging stations into the network infrastructure. Many car manufacturers have already started to switch to 800V, citing the possibility of reducing charging times, but even in 2025, the share of such cars will not exceed 12% of the electric car market.
Image source: Hyundai Motor
Such forecasts are made by representatives DigiTimes Research, indicating that this share has not exceeded 2% over the past year, so some progress can still be observed. The increase in power transmitted to charging stations is due to the need to reduce the charging time of an electric vehicle. This can be achieved by increasing the current or increasing the voltage. The first method reduces the efficiency of the process by increasing losses in the circuit. It also requires a move to thicker conductors, which not only increases the cost of EVs, but also increases their weight, which negatively impacts range.
Increasing the voltage allows you to increase the transmitted power without increasing the cross-section of the conductors, but requires the use of a different component base on the electric vehicle side. Additionally, some onboard systems cannot switch to a higher voltage, requiring additional step-down converters to power them. In short, taking into account all the difficulties involved, analysts come to the conclusion that electric vehicles with an on-board voltage of 800 V will go into mass production no earlier than 2030, and in 2025 their share of the primary market will not exceed 12%.
Premium EVs will transition to the 800V architecture more quickly as more affluent customers value time and faster charging is the key benefit of such a transition. By the way, as part of the Volkswagen Group, it is Porsche and Audi who are at the forefront of migration to platforms with a voltage of 800 V. South Korean automakers are ready to introduce such a voltage for mass electric vehicle models Now. Chinese companies still prefer to move down from more expensive models, Americans and Europeans, represented by Stellantis and General Motors, are also thinking about it, but the leader, represented by Tesla, still resists this trend.
The move to 800V is a viable option for larger EVs, company executives have previously noted, and Tesla may consider moving to articulated lorries and the Cybertruck in future generations, but the brand’s smaller vehicles will continue to follow the 400 for now Remain committed to the -V standard. Tesla, Switching to the new standard involves too high a cost at the level of the entire infrastructure, but it allows a cost reduction for a single electric vehicle.
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