Li Mega can officially add 500 km in 12 minutes thanks to its fast-charging 5C Qilin battery from CATL. During the road test, Li Auto beat that and showed a 10-80% charging time of 10 minutes and 36 seconds with a peak power of 521.2 kW.
The test was conducted by a Chinese influencer 电车室长 who has over 0.5 million followers on Weibo. The charging started at 10% SoC when the remaining range was 68 km and ended at 80% when the range increased to 568 km. The peak power of 521.2 kW occurred around 18% SoC.
A similar test result occurred in October last year when a leaked test video showed Li Mega charged from 6% to 80% in 11 minutes and 2 seconds. That was 77.3 kWh of capacity in 11 minutes. The peak charging capacity was slightly higher back then, reaching 521.59 kW.
Li Auto sells only extended-range electric vehicles (EREV). It means ICE is not connected to wheels and only charges the battery or powers the e-motor. The reason is that, despite being an EV enthusiast, Li Xiang, the company founder and CEO, believes that most potential EV buyers still have range and charging anxiety.
Li Xiang also said they will bring their first all-electric car to the market when the technology is advanced enough to make charging as fast and convenient as adding gas. And that time has already come – Li Mega will launch this week on March 1.
Li Auto doesn’t want to rely on third-party charging infrastructure, which might ruin the charging experience, and they announced they will build their network of superchargers. The Li Auto stations will have a 3+1 setup, meaning there will always be one 480 kW power charger and three 250 kW chargers.
The company plans to have 2,000 superchargers in China by the year’s end, covering 90% of tier 1-3 cities. By the end of 2025, Li Auto wants to operate 10,000 superchargers. Currently, Li Auto has 343 superchargers in China located in 114 cities.
Li commented on its superchargers that if the stations are empty, the car with 5C charging can get 500 km in 11 minutes. If the station is occupied and all the guns are in use, the vehicles can still add 500 km in 15 minutes, Li assured.
Li Mega specs
Li Mega is a new large minivan built on an 800V platform equipped with CATL’s fastcharging 5C battery technology. The C means how many times the battery can fully charge in an hour. So, in this case, 5C means it can charge 0-100% five times in an hour. In other words, the battery can fully charge in 12 minutes.
The MPV, with its futuristic design, is over 5.3 meters long. Its exact dimensions are 5350/1965/1850 mm with a wheelbase of 3300 mm. It has a 2+2+3 seating arrangement, an electronically foldable rear row of seats, and various options for how to arrange interior seating/sleeping.
The Mega has two electric motors on board with a combined power of 400 kW. They are powered by a 102.7 kWh ternary NMC battery pack from CATL, good for 710 km of range.
The price will be revealed on March 1, and CarNewsChina expects it will be around 500,000 yuan (70,000 USD). It will compete with Denza D9, Xpeng X9, Hycan V09, and Zeekr 009 in China.
WOW, looks like the hyundai staria
The battery and charging are around the best in the world
Any RHD?
I’m confused. They say the car can take about 520 kW peak power, yet they build up chargers with 480 kW peak? And only one at each location? So customers won’t actually see peak power…