One of the biggest electric vehicle brands has unveiled a revolutionary charger which is capable of powering a car in just five minutes.
Chinese brand BYD has introduced a new platform for electric vehicles which could charge its models in the same amount of time it takes drivers to fill up with petrol and diesel at filling stations.
The new technology will initially be rolled out across the Chinese charging network before launching globally with ambitions for it to eventually come to the UK.
The car brand, which already has a monopoly in the electric vehicle market, has now introduced a charger twice as powerful as Tesla's Supercharger with capabilities of charging 1,000kW, enabling cars to travel 249 miles after just five minutes of being plugged in.
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BYD founder Wang Chuanfu said at an event at the company's Shenzhen headquarters: "In order to completely solve our user's charging anxiety, we have been pursuing a goal to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as the refuelling time of petrol vehicles.
"This is the first time in the industry that the unit of megawatt (charge) has been achieved on charging power."
The ultra-rapid would be superior to Tesla's Supercharger which offers charging speeds of up to 500kW and acts as a direct competitor to Elon Musk’s brand.
Fast-charging technology has been key to increasing EV adoption across the UK and globally and remained one of the biggest concerns for drivers when considering switching away from petrol and diesel cars.
To achieve a faster charger, BYD said it had to develop a package of technologies including batteries with a 10C charging multiplier. This allows vehicles to be charged at 10 times the battery's capacity per hour.
The new charging architecture will be initially available in two new EVs issued by the brand, the Han L sedan and Tang L SUV priced from 270,000 yuan (£28,740). The carmaker plans on building more than 4,000 ultra-fast charging points across China to match the new platform.
While the company couldn't offer an exact time frame or how much it would invest in building such facilities, the move has already had a positive impact globally with BYD shares sharply increasing shortly after the news.
Earlier this month, BYD announced plans to build a new electric car factory in Europe which would be on top of a Hungary-based facility which will open later this year followed by a second site in Turkey.
Once both sites are fully operational, they aim to have the capacity to roll out 500,000 electric vehicles per year, the brand explained.
BYD accounts for more than a third of the EV sales in China, but its owners have largely relied on other automakers' charging facilities or public charging poles run by third-party operators to date. The announcement this week hopes to change this.
Across China, automaker Nio has the most extensive charging network with nearly 2,700 fast charging stations with Tesla following closely behind having built more than 2,000 stations, or 11,500 Superchargers as of September last year.
Michael Dean, senior European automotive analyst at BI, had previously warned that BYD’s rise could signal the end of Tesla’s dominance of EVs.
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He added: "Tesla's original 50 per cent annual growth target is in tatters and despite new capacity and competitive pricing we see it losing its BEV global annual sales crown to BYD in 2024 on a lack of new models.
"BYD's lead may be short-lived with limited export opportunities beyond Asia and emerging markets, given US and EU import tariffs with 85 per cent of BEV sales in China versus one-third for Tesla."
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Chinese brand BYD has introduced a new platform for electric vehicles which could charge its models in the same amount of time it takes drivers to fill up with petrol and diesel at filling stations.
The new technology will initially be rolled out across the Chinese charging network before launching globally with ambitions for it to eventually come to the UK.
The car brand, which already has a monopoly in the electric vehicle market, has now introduced a charger twice as powerful as Tesla's Supercharger with capabilities of charging 1,000kW, enabling cars to travel 249 miles after just five minutes of being plugged in.
Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
BYD founder Wang Chuanfu said at an event at the company's Shenzhen headquarters: "In order to completely solve our user's charging anxiety, we have been pursuing a goal to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as the refuelling time of petrol vehicles.
"This is the first time in the industry that the unit of megawatt (charge) has been achieved on charging power."
The ultra-rapid would be superior to Tesla's Supercharger which offers charging speeds of up to 500kW and acts as a direct competitor to Elon Musk’s brand.
Fast-charging technology has been key to increasing EV adoption across the UK and globally and remained one of the biggest concerns for drivers when considering switching away from petrol and diesel cars.
To achieve a faster charger, BYD said it had to develop a package of technologies including batteries with a 10C charging multiplier. This allows vehicles to be charged at 10 times the battery's capacity per hour.
The new charging architecture will be initially available in two new EVs issued by the brand, the Han L sedan and Tang L SUV priced from 270,000 yuan (£28,740). The carmaker plans on building more than 4,000 ultra-fast charging points across China to match the new platform.
While the company couldn't offer an exact time frame or how much it would invest in building such facilities, the move has already had a positive impact globally with BYD shares sharply increasing shortly after the news.
Earlier this month, BYD announced plans to build a new electric car factory in Europe which would be on top of a Hungary-based facility which will open later this year followed by a second site in Turkey.
Once both sites are fully operational, they aim to have the capacity to roll out 500,000 electric vehicles per year, the brand explained.
BYD accounts for more than a third of the EV sales in China, but its owners have largely relied on other automakers' charging facilities or public charging poles run by third-party operators to date. The announcement this week hopes to change this.
Across China, automaker Nio has the most extensive charging network with nearly 2,700 fast charging stations with Tesla following closely behind having built more than 2,000 stations, or 11,500 Superchargers as of September last year.
Michael Dean, senior European automotive analyst at BI, had previously warned that BYD’s rise could signal the end of Tesla’s dominance of EVs.
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He added: "Tesla's original 50 per cent annual growth target is in tatters and despite new capacity and competitive pricing we see it losing its BEV global annual sales crown to BYD in 2024 on a lack of new models.
"BYD's lead may be short-lived with limited export opportunities beyond Asia and emerging markets, given US and EU import tariffs with 85 per cent of BEV sales in China versus one-third for Tesla."
Find Out More...