BYD’s ongoing partnership with Sinopec has produced its first full fuel station conversion, with the Chinese fuel retailer stripping out a Shanghai site’s fuelling capabilities entirely, to create a dedicated Flash Charging hub.
Shangai location swaps fuel pumps for megawatt charging
The converted service station in Shanghai now features 12 BYD Flash charging stalls, alongside the existing a rest area and a convenience store. Rather than the layout of a typical EV charging site, the site’s layout remains similar to its fuel pump-based predecessor, allowing for a drive-in, drive-out configuration. With BYD’s megawatt charging bringing recharging times down to something comparable to filling up a petrol or diesel car, it makes even more sense to keep that layout.
The underground area where fuel storage tanks once stood have now been filled with battery storage, which allow the Flash chargers to deliver their 1,500kW charging speeds without putting too much of a strain on the energy grid.
The chargers on the site can operate at speeds of up to 1,500kW, taking a compatible EV from 10 to 70% in just five minutes. That most impressive speed is limited to EVs fitted with BYD’s second-generation Blade batteries, including models such as the Denza Z9 GT. Other EVs can also use these chargers, but speeds will of course be limited to what the EV itself can support.
The Shanghai hub is the most visible result yet of the partnership between the world’s largest EV maker and China’s largest fuel retailer, which we covered when it was announced in June. Under that deal, Flash chargers are being rolled out across Sinopec’s nationwide network of more than 30,000 fuel sites, helping support BYD’s own target of 20,000 Flash chargers deployed across China by the end of 2026.
