EV Battery Capacity Chart

Two numbers on a vehicle spec sheet decide a home charging project, and only one of them is the one people quote. Pack capacity in kilowatt-hours tells you how long a full charge takes and what it costs. The onboard AC charger limit tells you how fast it can happen, and therefore what circuit is worth paying an electrician to install. They are independent figures: a 135 kWh truck and a 65 kWh hatchback can share an identical 11.5 kW onboard charger, in which case they charge at exactly the same rate and one simply takes longer.

What is the usable capacity and onboard charger limit of each EV?

Full-charge hours assume the car draws its own onboard limit for the whole session at 90 percent efficiency, which is the conservative figure used across this site. The 20 to 80 percent column is the window most owners actually use day to day. Cost to fill is at the national average residential rate of 16.5 cents per kWh, on billed energy rather than energy delivered.

The column that should change your spending is the circuit column, and it only takes three values. 2 of the vehicles listed justify a 40 amp circuit and no more. 11 justify a 60 amp circuit, which is the mainstream case. 1 could theoretically use a 100 amp circuit, and that is the F-150 Lightning alone. There is nothing in between and nothing above, which is why this whole site keeps returning to two numbers.

Which cars are capped at 6.6 kW, and why does it matter so much?

The Nissan Leaf and early Toyota bZ4X model years shipped a 6.6 kW onboard charger. That single specification is worth several hundred dollars at install time, because it means a 32 amp charger on a 40 amp circuit delivers everything the car can take and a 48 amp charger on a 60 amp circuit delivers identical charging speed for a heavier conductor, a larger breaker and a hardwired termination.

Look at the arithmetic from the owner's side. A Leaf at 6.6 kW and 3.5 miles per kWh gains 23 miles of range per hour. Over a ten hour overnight window that is 230 miles, which is more than the car's total range. There is no scenario in normal use where the circuit is the constraint. Buying 48 amps here is buying a number on a box.

The trap is model year. Later bZ4X production raised the onboard limit, so two cars with the same badge can genuinely justify different circuits. Check the window sticker or the owner's manual rather than a review, and if you are buying used, check the specific vehicle. The detail is on the Toyota bZ4X page and the Nissan Leaf page.

How should pack size change the circuit you install?

Not directly, but through the hours. A large pack does not draw more current, it draws the same current for longer, and the question is whether the overnight window is long enough for the worst arrival state you realistically face.

For an average commute the band is almost irrelevant. The average American drives around 37 miles a day, which is under 12 kWh for most cars, and even a 24 amp dryer circuit replaces that in two and a half hours. The bands start to matter on the days when the car arrives home nearly empty and has to leave full, and those days scale directly with pack size. A 135 kWh Rivian arriving at ten percent needs over 100 kWh, which is ten hours at 11.5 kW and fifteen at 7.7 kW. That is the real argument for the hardwired 48 amp buildout.

Why is the cost to fill higher than pack size times rate?

Because you pay for energy at the meter and the battery receives less of it. Losses occur in three places: the wall unit's own electronics, the vehicle's AC to DC conversion, and thermal management of the pack during the session. This site uses 90 percent as a conservative combined figure, applied consistently, so that a cost quoted on one page agrees with a cost quoted on another.

That means a 75 kWh pack draws around 83 kWh from the wall, and at 16.5 cents that is roughly 13.75 dollars rather than 12.38. The gap is small in absolute terms and worth being honest about, because it is exactly the kind of rounding that makes a payback calculation look better than it is. Run your own rate in the charging cost calculator, and see the state-by-state spread on electricity rates by state.

Efficiency also varies with conditions. In genuine cold, thermal management takes a larger share and the pack may need warming before it accepts full current, so both the time and the cost columns move in the wrong direction. In mild weather 92 to 94 percent is achievable. Treat the figures as a planning band.

What about the inlet column?

The inlet decides which connector you buy on the wall, and it is currently in transition. Tesla vehicles ship a NACS inlet. Several Hyundai and Kia models have moved to NACS in recent model years while earlier cars of the same name have CCS1. Ford, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Honda and Rivian in this table are CCS1, which uses a J1772 connector for AC charging at home.

For a home install the practical rule is short. If the household is all Tesla, a Tesla Wall Connector or an Emporia NACS unit is the tidy answer. If the household is mixed, or might be in five years, buy a J1772 unit and add a J1772 to NACS adapter, because that direction is cheap and widely certified while the reverse direction is neither. The Tesla Universal Wall Connector handles both natively. The full argument is in NACS versus J1772 and on the connector standards chart.

Where this chart stops being reliable

Trim and model year variation

Every row describes one trim, named in the second column. Long range and standard range versions of the same model can differ by 20 kWh or more, and all-wheel drive versions are usually less efficient than rear-wheel drive ones. Onboard charger ratings occasionally differ between trims too, and manufacturers revise them between model years without renaming the car.

Usable capacity is approximate by nature

Manufacturers do not always publish usable capacity, and the buffer is a software decision that can change with an update. Independent measurements of the same vehicle differ by a couple of kilowatt-hours. Nothing in a home charging decision turns on that precision, but do not treat the number as exact.

Range figures are a single test cycle

EPA combined range is a standardised test, and real range depends on speed, temperature, terrain, tyres and load. The miles per kWh column is derived from the same test, so both move together. For planning a circuit that is fine, because the circuit decision is driven by the onboard limit rather than by range.

The short version

Find your car, read the onboard AC limit, and install the circuit in the column beside it. If that number is 11 kW or more, wire 60 amps and buy a 48 amp charger. If it is 6.6 or 7.2 kW, wire 40 amps and buy a 32 or 40 amp charger, and put the money you saved into a longer cable. Pack size tells you how many hours a full charge takes and what it costs, and it changes the circuit decision only if you regularly arrive home nearly empty with a very large battery. Everything else on this chart is context.

Common questions

What is the difference between usable and gross battery capacity?

Gross capacity is the total energy in the cells. Usable capacity is what the vehicle actually lets you draw, with a buffer reserved at both ends to protect cell life and to give the battery management system room to balance. The buffer is typically a few percent to around ten percent. Every figure in this chart is the usable, approximate number, because that is what determines charge time and cost.

Does a bigger battery need a bigger charger circuit?

It needs more hours, not more power, unless the onboard charger is also larger. Pack size and onboard charger rating are independent numbers. A 135 kWh Rivian and a 65 kWh Bolt EUV both cap at 11.5 kW, so they charge at the same rate and the Rivian simply takes longer. Large packs justify a 48 amp circuit because the hours add up, not because the car draws more current.

Which cars only need a 40 amp circuit?

Any vehicle whose onboard AC charger caps at 6.6 or 7.2 kW, which in current models means the Nissan Leaf and early Toyota bZ4X model years. A 32 amp charger on a 40 amp breaker delivers 7.7 kW, more than either car can accept, so a larger circuit adds nothing. Later bZ4X model years raised the onboard limit, so confirm your specific year before deciding.

How much does a full charge cost at home?

At the national average residential rate of 16.5 cents per kWh, and allowing 90 percent charging efficiency, a 75 kWh pack costs around 13.75 dollars to fill from empty and a 135 kWh pack around 24.75. Nobody charges from empty at home in practice, so a realistic daily figure is a fifth to a third of that. A time-of-use rate plan changes the number more than the pack size does.

Why do the charge times assume 90 percent efficiency?

Because not every kilowatt-hour billed at the meter reaches the battery. Losses occur in the wall unit, in the vehicle’s AC to DC conversion and in thermal management of the pack during the session. Ninety percent is a conservative figure used consistently across this site so times and costs quoted on different pages agree with each other. Real efficiency is often slightly better in mild conditions.

Do these figures change by trim and model year?

Yes, and materially. Manufacturers revise pack chemistry, usable capacity, onboard charger rating and inlet type between model years, sometimes mid-year. Several models in this table have moved from CCS1 to a NACS inlet recently. Treat the chart as a planning reference and confirm against your own window sticker or owner’s manual before an electrician sizes a circuit around it.

Getting your own panel and load numbers ready for an electrician? The EV Home Charging Install Planner is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.