But those (94ah) cells are a different physical size than the ones in the Bolt EV.
Are we sure of that? How did BMW put the 94ah cells in the i3, where 60ah cells have been previously? I'm not suggesting GM is going to do this anytime soon, because their primary motivation is to make a relatively low-cost GM Zero Emission Vehicle with superior range to its competitors.
GM famously stated that they were paying $145 per kilowatt hour now and $100 per kilowatt hour in 2020. It really PO'd LG when the data was released.
Why would GM set the vehicle limit (125a charging) based on historical charging station limits? That would seem odd to me unless it is tied to certifications on parts such as a 200A limit on the CCS inlet. The usual limiting factor is the battery and it ought to be able to handle more than 125A.
GM actually told us that was going to be the limit, and that they would assess a higher limit in the future. Of course the battery can take more than 125 amps.
Since GM folks recently mentioned 80 kW while speaking a couple of times and the owner manual mentions 80 kW I think that implies 160A or more.
160 A does not charge any 400 V battery at 80 kW. Neither does 200 A.
The data that they are inaccurately providing is the maximum charge amps multiplied by the maximum battery voltage:
200a * 400v = 80kW
But no lithium 400 V battery can accept the highest charge rate at the highest voltage!
So, the maximum charge rate will likely be somewhere between 70 and 75kW:
200a * 350v = 70kW
200a * 375v = 75kW
But then, almost nobody needs to fully charge a Bolt EV or a Tesla on DC -- you should rarely need to charge much longer than 60-70 minutes and charging longer than that is a waste of time due to the ramp down.
You are making huge assumptions that just don't apply in every case. At 125 A, the GM Chevrolet Bolt EV will add 3 miles per minute while charging. If I need to go 210 miles to the next DC fast charger or to grandma's house, then I need to charge 70 minutes or more (depending on battery temperature, ambient temp, charger output, load sharing etc.)
If that distant location is 250 or 300 miles away (which is very easy to be in the United States of America), I'm going to "fill it up" for two hours or so.
Obviously, if you're in a charger rich environment like major metro areas in California, or in the Northeast, or the Pacific Northwest, sure, just charge enough to get you on your way. If you only need 30 miles of additional range, charge for 10 minutes.