What is a kW (kilowatt)?

kW (kilowatt) is a measure of power, similar to horsepower, but usually used to refer to electric vehicles.

Kilowatts are commonly used to describe two areas of EV performance:

1. The first is to measure the power output of an EV’s electric motor setup, very similar to how horsepower is used for fuel-driven engines. 100kW is the equivalent of 134hp, and carmakers will often quote both.
2. The second place EVs tend to use kilowatts is to describe charging speeds. For example, some of the latest EVs are able to charge at a rate of 150kW or even higher, depending on the charger used. The higher the charge rate, the faster your battery will charge. EVs will usually have a maximum kW rate of charge they’re able to accept, while the charger itself will also have a maximum kW rate it can dispense. Thankfully, your EV’s on-board systems will be able to figure out what rate to charge at automatically.