How BYD’s five-minute charges compare with competitors

Chinese carmaker BYD is turning heads with claims that it has developed an electric vehicle (EV) platform it says will enable drivers to charge an EV in roughly the same time it takes to refuel a petrol car.

From “more features for no more price” and “smart driving for all”, BYD can now add “charging as fast as refuelling” to its marketing slogans, potentially helping it to capture more market share from legacy carmakers and more direct rivals like billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla.

How does BYD’s new system work and compare with rivals’ offerings?

BYD showcased the upgrade to its EVs (the Shenzhen-based automaker also makes hybrid cars) at an event on the evening of March 17 in China. The so-called Super e-Platform features flash-charging batteries, a 30,000 rpm motor and new silicon carbide power chips.

In layman’s terms, what this means is that BYD’s cars can achieve a charging power of 1MW and a peak charging speed of 2km per second, according to the company, making the system the fastest of its type for mass-produced vehicles and allowing for 400km of range to be added in just

five minutes of charging.

That is more or less analogous to what it takes to pull in at and out of a petrol station and pay for a full tank.

The capability BYD is claiming to have outperforms Tesla’s Superchargers, which can add 275km of range in 15 minutes, according to the company’s website.

Mercedes-Benz Group’s new entry-level CLA sedan EV can achieve 325km in 10 minutes.

BYD also has plenty of competition closer to home.

China’s Li Auto, for example, uses a battery from Contemporary Amperex Technology in one of its vehicles that offers 500km of range from a 12-minute charge.

BYD says it has made such leaps that the Han L, one of the EVs that will now come with the new Super e-Platform, is comparable to a Formula E racing car.

How has BYD made such fast charges possible?

BYD cites its “all liquid-cooled megawatt flash-charging terminal system”.

In addition, to match the ultra-high power charging, BYD has self-developed a next-generation automotive-grade silicon carbide power chip. The chip has a voltage rating of up to 1,500 volts, the highest to date in the car industry.

In tandem, BYD on March 17 launched its flash-charging battery. From the positive to the negative electrode, the cell contains ultra-fast ion channels, which BYD says reduces the battery’s internal resistance by half.

There is also a mass-produced 30,000 rpm motor.

BYD senior vice-president Luo Hongbin said the motor “not only significantly boosts a vehicle’s speed, but also greatly reduces the motor’s weight and size, enhancing power density”.

Is it safe?

That is a complicated question. For superfast charging, there may be some impact to the safety of a battery and its lifetime durability.

Older batteries may not be suited to such quick charging. At the same time, large charging currents can lead to severe overheating, Tsinghua University’s Professor Ouyang Minggao wrote in a 2024 paper.

There could be added costs too. Guotai Junan Securities has estimated that upgrading an EV from 400-volt to 800-volt architecture may add a cost of about 4,000 yuan (S$736) per vehicle.

BYD’s latest platform goes up to 1,000 volts, which fires up the battery, motor, air-conditioning and other components.

Separately, electricity grids may not be able to sustain the load from such high-intensity charging, meaning these superfast charging stations – BYD says it plans to build more than 4,000 of them in China – may not be able to draw power from the grid directly, according to Prof Ouyang.

Some EV makers – like Xpeng, which is also working on superfast charging technologies – have unique energy storage units at their charging stations to help manage the elevated power demand.

Where can BYD’s new five-minute charging system be used? Can it help solve range anxiety?

BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu said on March 17 that “charging anxiety” is still a major concern, despite advances in EV technology.

People do not want to wait for hours while their car powers up, or, worse, drive to a charging point only to find it broken or occupied.

BYD’s ultra-fast-charging cars could therefore go a long way to ease charging anxiety. Fast-charging batteries are “another step towards reducing consumer hesitancy for EVs”, said Mr Vincent Sun, an analyst at Morningstar. But he added that the high voltage requirements on charging poles “aren’t widely supported yet”.

For the time being, BYD’s system will be available only in China.

The first models to feature its Super e-Platform will be the Han L and Tang L. Pre-sales for those have officially started in China and they are set to launch in April.

Automakers building their own charging infrastructure, including BYD and Tesla, are raising questions about the value of battery swopping, especially for carmakers with closed ecosystems like Nio.

Rather than charging up an EV battery, battery swopping involves a driver physically swopping out his vehicle’s spent battery for a new one. Nio has built more than 3,200 swopping stations globally, with most located in China.

What about other battery technologies, like solid-state batteries? Would they be better?

Solid-state batteries are generally considered safer than traditional lithium-ion batteries because they use a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid or gel electrolyte. 

That matters for a few reasons.

There is a lower risk of dendrite formation – needle-like lithium metal structures that can form over time and pierce the separator between electrodes, causing short circuits. Solid-state batteries operate more safely at higher temperatures, reducing the risk of overheating, and there is less risk of leakage, limiting the risk of hazardous chemical exposure.

But solid-state batteries are much costlier to manufacture, leading to issues with scalability and mass production, and several prototypes still experience cracking and degradation owing to repeated charging cycles.

Solid-state cells also have limited performance at low temperatures, making them problematic in colder areas during winter.

How much will BYD’s models using this new technology cost?

The Han L starts from 270,000 yuan, while the Tang L sport utility vehicle starts from 280,000 yuan.

Both also boast the company’s latest God’s Eye smart driving features. BLOOMBERG