- BYD’s T-shaped chargers can support vehicles that can charge at speeds of a full megawatt. (1,000 kW)
- The brand wants to establish 4,000 charging units itself, with a whopping 15,000 more via third-party charging companies.
- Megawatt charging will start in China first, but BYD wants to bring it to Europe.
It’s no secret that charging infrastructure and charging times have been some of the biggest roadblocks to EV adoption. For some drivers, the concept of having to find a charger and wait for anywhere from about 25 minutes to an hour to get charged is unacceptable. To them, EVs are just “not ready for primetime” until they can go as far as a gas car, and recharge as quickly as a gas car refuels.
Well, the naysayers can finally stop talking. At least, if they’re in China. Last year, Chinese automotive giant BYD revealed cars that can accept a full megawatt of charging—double the highest power rating in the U.S. In just five minutes of charging, those EVs can add a claimed 250 miles of range on China’s CLTC test cycle, which is biased toward city driving.
This isn’t just a theory; we’ve been to China and verified it. And now, it looks like the automaker is rolling out a new generation of super-fast charging units. Eagle-eyed Chinese social media netizens have started to notice these unusual-looking chargers popping up in the country. And Chinese car blogs are picking up on the news too.
The teal, T-shaped units look markedly different from the megawatt-rated Flash charging stations that BYD unveiled last year. Aside from the double charging cables, one mounted on each side, those looked fairly traditional.
Photos of the chargers’ information plates taken by Chinese bloggers indicate that at least some of the new units are able to dispense 1,500 kilowatts, or 1.5 megawatts. Last year, BYD said its Flash chargers could put out 1,360 kW. To be sure, BYD hasn’t announced anything about a new generation of charging hardware officially, and a representative didn’t respond to our questions about the new stations.
BYD announces its megawatt Flash charging system in March, 2025.
Photo by: BYD
Tesla’s Supercharging network has famously been one of the biggest draws for that brand, and other Chinese automakers have followed suit. Xpeng, Nio, and Zeekr are some of the most prevalent brands with established DC fast charging networks in China. Interestingly, despite BYD’s large size, it doesn’t actually have a strong charging network, even in China. Instead, it’s done small partnerships and incentives with third-party charging service providers for its EV owners in China.
Now, BYD is going full throttle into the EV charging race. Initially, BYD announced its intention to build out 4,000 charging stations on its own, with the number increasing by an extra 15,000 (via third-party charging companies agreeing to use BYD’s stations) in mid 2025. Currently, there are at least 500 1 MW first-generation stations in China. The next crop of stations could use this T-shaped design.
Photo by: Patrick George
True, this is forbidden fruit here to anyone not in China. But, it does show that making an electric car that can charge almost as quickly as a gas one can refuel is very much possible. BYD isn’t the only company pushing toward faster and faster charging stops. Mercedes-Benz, Zeekr and others have been inching toward this lightning-fast goal.
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