BYD showed ultra-fast charging for electric cars: 400 km in 5 minutes

BYD has taken another step closer to its goal of making electric vehicle charging comparable in speed to refueling vehicles with an internal combustion engine. A new video shows how the brand’s electric car gains a range of about 400 kilometers in just five minutes, which was previously considered unattainable for production models.

BYD’s ambitious goal

Back in March, when introducing the Super e-Platform, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu openly formulated the company’s strategic goal – to achieve a time-saving process that would make the charging process of an electric vehicle no different from that of a regular gasoline refueling. BYD sees this as a key way to combat the so-called “three-way charging”, which still remains one of the main psychological barriers to the transition to electric transport.

More about BYD charging

The new Super e-Platform became the first mass-produced passenger car architecture with a full 1000-volt electrical system. At the same time, the Flash Charging Battery was introduced, designed for a charging current of up to 1000 amperes and a charging speed of 10C. In peak mode, such a bundle is capable of providing power up to 1 megawatt, or 1000 kilowatts, which takes fast charging performance to a new level.

According to BYD, the use of this technology allows you to restore up to 400 kilometers of range in the CLTC cycle in five minutes. This is not about laboratory tests, but about production cars. The first models based on the Super e-Platform were the Han L sedan and Tang L crossovers, which the company launched on the market a month after the official announcement. The starting price of these cars in China is 219,800 yuan, which corresponds to approximately 30 thousand dollars.

With the start of mass deliveries in China, practical evidence of the claimed characteristics has also appeared. In one of the videos published on the social network X by user Dominic Lee, a BYD electric car demonstrates charging with a peak power of up to 746 kilowatts. According to the author, it took about 4 minutes and 40 seconds to reach a charge level of about 70 percent.

How long does charging take

The company specifies that the Han L sedan is capable of charging from 10 to 70% in about 6 minutes, while a full battery charge takes about 20 minutes. The Tang L crossover with the same 1000-volt architecture gets about 370 kilometers of range in five minutes, and a full battery charge takes about half an hour.

BYD emphasizes that Flash Charging Battery technology allows electric vehicles to gain a range in a minimal amount of time, comparable to what internal combustion engine vehicles get when refueling at a gas station. In the long term, the company believes that this should finally erase the time difference between charging and traditional refueling and simplify the everyday use of electric vehicles.