Chinese energy and auto giant BYD has announced an ultra-fast charging system for electric vehicles that it says is almost as fast as filling up at a gas station.
BYD, China's largest electric vehicle maker, said Monday its chargers can fully charge the latest electric vehicles in five to eight minutes, comparable to the time it takes to fill a gas tank.
The company plans to build more than 4,000 new charging stations across China.
Charging times and limited range have been the main factors holding back the switch from petrol and diesel cars to electric vehicles, although Chinese drivers have welcomed the switch, with sales of battery-powered and hybrid cars up 40% last year.
The BYD news appeared to shake Tesla on Monday, with the US electric car maker's shares falling 4.8%.
BYD, whose name stands for “Build your dreams,” has begun pre-sales of its Han L and Tang L models, which are upgraded versions of earlier models.
The Chinese company started out making batteries and has refined its battery and energy storage technologies while building an automotive empire that is expanding beyond China.
The company claims its one-megawatt chargers can provide electricity for a range of 400 kilometers (almost 250 miles) in five minutes.
BYD founder Wang Chuanfu said in a statement that ultra-high voltage and high current are needed for maximum charging speed.
“To completely allay users' concerns about charging, we aim to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as that of ICE vehicles,” Mr Wang said.
The company also said its fast-charging system uses silicon carbide power chips with voltage levels up to 1,500V that it developed in-house.
The Blade's lithium-ion phosphate battery may be the safest and most efficient electric vehicle battery in the world, according to industry analyst Michael Dunn, and Tesla has chosen to use it in some of its electric vehicles.
BYD said it produced just over 4.3 million “new energy vehicles” last year, up 41 percent from a year earlier, including 1.8 million battery electric vehicles and 2.5 million plug-in hybrids.
Its share price, traded on China's small Shenzhen market, has risen nearly 50% in the past six months.
While BYD's hottest and latest premium models are expected to sell for around £30,000, the company also makes much cheaper electric cars, including the Seagull, which sells for around £9,000 in China.
In 2024, BYD narrowly overtook Tesla in battery-electric vehicle production: 1,777,965 units compared to Tesla's 1,773,443.
Tesla said in early January that its 2024 sales fell for the first time in more than a dozen years as rivals such as BMW, Volkswagen and BYD gained market share with competitive electric vehicles.
But BYD also has weaknesses, Mr. Dunn said, noting that in J.D. Power's 2024 China New Energy Vehicle Initial Quality Study, the BYD Seal and BYD Song Plus battery electric vehicles ranked near the bottom.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
