BYD has officially unveiled a new platform with a charging power of 1,000 kW, which will allow its cars to travel 400 km after a 5-minute charge. It is a completely new level in the world of EVs and one of the steps that could make electric vehicles more attractive to customers.
The goal of the Chinese company is to equalize the electric charging time with tank filling. The charging speed of 1,000 kW is double that of Tesla’s superchargers, which deliver up to 500 kW. This led to a rise in the company’s shares (4.1%) in China, which are now priced at 408.80 Hong Kong dollars, as investors estimated that the company could strengthen its already dominant position as one of the world’s largest electric car manufacturers. Initially, the new charging technology will be available for two new models, the Han L sedan and the Tang L SUV.
BYD also intends to install a network of 4,000 of its own “flash chargers” across China, to enable fast charging. The company did not specify a timeline or how much it would invest in building such facilities. Until now, BYD owners have largely relied on charging stations from other automakers or public charging stations run by third-party operators.
“In order to completely solve the concerns of our users about charging, we aimed to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as possible, that is, it takes as long as the charging time of gasoline vehicles,” said BYD founder Wang Chuanfu.
BYD does not want to stop there, so a new 1,500 V platform for their construction electric vehicles is also in the development process. These vehicles will use a battery with a capacity of 2,500 kWh in LFP format, which can support ultra-fast charging of up to 600 kW.
Source: BYD
