Chinese ultra-fast charging technology could cut Tunisia top-up times to seven minutes, ANME chief says

Chinese ultra-fast charging technology could reduce electric vehicle top-up times in Tunisia to around seven minutes, the director-general of the Agence nationale pour la maîtrise de l'énergie (ANME) said on Thursday 3 July, as the country's nascent EV market posted its strongest sales figures on record.

Nafaâ Baccari, speaking in an interview with La Presse de Tunisie, said Chinese innovation "suggests even more advanced prospects, with charging times that could reach around seven minutes" — a speed that would bring the experience of recharging an electric vehicle close to that of a conventional petrol fill-up. He did not name a specific manufacturer or charger model, and no deployment date was given.

The remark arrived against a backdrop of rapidly shifting numbers on Tunisia's roads. Baccari said more than 1,000 electric vehicles had been purchased in the first months of 2026 — a volume he described as already comparable to, or greater than, the total accumulated over several preceding years combined.

Tax breaks drive the surge

The jump in sales follows a package of fiscal measures introduced under the 2026 Finance Law. Customs exemptions on electric and hybrid vehicles — in force since 2024 — have contributed to an estimated 30 percent fall in prices, Baccari said. Registration fees for EV owners have been cut by 50 percent, and the annual road tax reduced by half.

Charging infrastructure has been brought into the same incentive framework. Under the 2026 Finance Law, customs duties on EV chargers have been capped at 10 percent and VAT cut from 19 percent to 7 percent, measures valid until 31 December 2028. The ANME chief confirmed that the law also extended preferential treatment to raw materials for battery manufacturing, with some local producers already beginning production.

More than 30 EV models are currently available on the Tunisian market, according to the ANME, with Chinese brands — including BYD, the country's top-selling EV nameplate in recent years — prominent in the range.

Infrastructure push: motorways, a digital map and a 2030 target

Tunisia currently has around 200 public charging points, a figure that dates to early 2026. The ANME has set a target of 7,000 points by 2030 and 12,000 by 2035, Baccari announced at the agency's 40th-anniversary event in Tunis on 20 May.

On the same occasion, the ANME signed an agreement with Tunisie Autoroutes to equip the national motorway network with charging stations — a move aimed directly at the range anxiety that discourages long-distance EV travel.

Baccari also said a dedicated digital platform is being prepared to allow drivers to locate chargers, check prices and see available charging speeds directly from a smartphone. A new regulatory framework (cahier des charges) that would allow any individual or company to open a charging station anywhere on the national territory, and to set prices according to installation costs, is in finalisation.

Where the seven-minute claim sits

The technology underpinning ultra-fast charging is well established in China, though it remains at the frontier of what is commercially deployed. Chinese manufacturers including BYD and CATL have each launched chargers operating at 1.5 megawatts or above, with some demonstration results showing a charge from 10 percent to 70 percent state of charge in around five minutes under controlled conditions. Independent technical analysis notes that such speeds require both a compatible ultra-high-voltage vehicle platform and the megawatt-capable station itself, and that widespread commercial rollout is still in its early stages.

Baccari's seven-minute reference positions Tunisia's charging ambition within that frontier, rather than announcing a specific product or contract. The practical implication, for a Tunisian market currently served by chargers ranging from standard 7 kW home units to 160 kW DC rapid chargers, is that the infrastructure trajectory points well beyond what is currently available.

The ANME sits at the centre of Tunisia's energy transition strategy, which targets 35 percent renewable electricity generation by 2030 and a 46 percent reduction in carbon emissions. Transport, the agency has noted, is Tunisia's largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions and its biggest energy consumer — making the pace of EV adoption a material variable in whether those targets are met.