It’s a well established fact that Chinese automakers are leaps ahead of Western brands in terms of electric vehicle technology. What’s less obvious is how fast that lead is widening.
BYD’s newest EVs, equipped with its latest battery and charging technology, are a stark reminder of just how far Chinese automakers have left Western brands in the rearview mirror.
The automaker rolled out its updated Seal 07 electric sedan Friday, replete with the second-generation Blade lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery and compatibility with its new 1,500 kilowatt “Flash” chargers. It has a maximum CLTC range of 705 kilometers (438 miles), which translates to roughly 300 miles of range on the U.S. EPA cycle. CLTC tends to be city-biased and thus a bit more optimistic in terms of total range than EPA ratings.
14
Source: BYD
You’d think the sedan would be expensive given its impressive specs. But it actually costs the equivalent of $10,000 less than the Tesla Model 3 in China, coming in at a starting price of 169,900 yuan ($24,600). The base rear-wheel-drive Model 3 trim comes in at about 235,500 RMB ($34,100 as of current exchange rates).
It uses a “Short Blade” battery with 69 kilowatt-hours of capacity. This pack does not have all the bells and whistles of the “Long Blade” battery on the flagship Denza Z9 GT, but still gets Flash charging compatibility.
So how does that translate into real-world performance? BYD showcased the Seal 07 charging at a Flash charging station in Shenzhen in a social media post, and the performance appears out of this world.
The car arrives with 10% range left, which is about 73 km (45 miles) according to its display. It goes on to hit 70% in four minutes 51 seconds, adding a whopping 422 km (262 miles) of range in that time. It then reaches 97% in just eight minutes 44 seconds, with 686 km of range displayed on its screen. That’s over 600 km of CLTC range added in under 9 minutes—or well over 200 miles using the EPA method. That’s substantially better than most EVs here in the U.S.
While the Flash chargers are capable of dispensing 1,500 kilowatts, it’s unclear exactly how much this particular BYD vehicle can accept.
For context, the $95,000 Lucid Gravity adds about 200 miles of range in 12.5 minutes of fast charging at a 350 kW EVgo station, according to an independent test by the State of Charge YouTube channel.
A Tesla Model 3 Long Range rear-wheel-drive takes 35 minutes for a 0-80% charge on a 250 kW Supercharger, according to a test by the Out of Spec YouTube channel. The charge from 80% to 100%? That took a full extra hour.
While that’s not slow and should suffice for most owners, it’s nowhere as quick as the BYD. Flash charging capability allows it to get mighty close to recharging as fast as gas cars take to refuel.
While daily fast-charging can hurt battery cells in the long run, BYD claims the Blade 2.0 battery can survive 500 Flash charging cycles. It also retains strong charging performance in temperatures as low as -22°F (-30°C).
Photo by: BYD
On most EVs today, charging speeds taper off after 80% to protect battery health and avoid overheating. The new Blade 2.0 pack appears to charge at blistering speeds all the way. BYD hasn’t disclosed exactly how it’s pulling that off, but the company has a long history in batteries, which it’s been making since before it ventured into cars.
What makes this all the more stinging is that China’s early EVs were somewhat modeled on Tesla’s playbook. Tesla pioneered the category. Then, in recent years, it has largely stopped innovating on passenger cars, redirecting resources toward robotics and AI.
Chinese automakers learned every lesson and kept iterating at full speed. The result is EVs that can add 90% of their range in nearly the same time it takes to fill a gas tank. Most new EVs in the U.S. still need 20 to 40 minutes of high-speed charging to add a meaningful amount of range.
Photo by: BYD
Charging power is not its only strength. The Seal 07 also gets a lidar-powered advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), which BYD calls “God’s Eye.” It features a high-tech suspension system where cameras constantly read the road and adjust the springs to keep the car stable—a feature typically reserved for high-end flagships.
Plus, there’s a full suite of modern software features and creature comforts, like phone-as-a-key, dog mode, massaging seats, and a refrigerated compartment.
All said, BYD has confirmed it will export Flash charging technology to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific region. These are the markets where its EV sales are already aggressively expanding.
Don’t expect any of this to arrive stateside anytime soon. America’s steep tariffs on Chinese EVs and its restrictions on Chinese-origin software make that prospect very unlikely.
Contact the author: [email protected]
