Chinese electric carmaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) and Shell have signed an agreement to help accelerate the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) by improving the charging experience for drivers. The partnership will start in China and Europe before extending to other regions across the globe.
The collaboration will offer BYD battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) drivers membership access to 275,000 charging points through the Shell roaming network. Both BYD and Shell will also jointly develop fleet solutions and depot charging services for BYD customers in Europe.
This news comes after BYD announced last year that they would start selling their electric vehicles in Europe when they launched the BYD Tang sports utility vehicle (SUV) in Oslo, Norway. With this latest announcement, we expect to see sales locations expand rapidly across Europe.
The BYD and Shell partnership will seek to provide integrated home energy solutions such as dynamic tariff scheduling, solar integration, home batteries and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging in different regions across the world.
The collaboration will explore opportunities to build BYD-Shell electric vehicle hubs in key European markets. This will provide customers with seamless charging and digital services jointly developed by both parties for greater user experience.
BYD and Shell will also refer customers to participate in the Accelerate-to-Zero (A2Z) decarbonisation programme. This enables corporate fleets to reduce emissions to zero and net-zero across various markets in Europe.
Both BYD and Shell aim to collaborate on global research and development in the areas of battery performance and advanced charging. Globally, Shell will seek to help BYD generate cost-saving and better hardware performance with Shell E-fluids and coolants.
Both parties also intend to form a joint venture to develop electric vehicle charging networks across China. The joint venture is expected to operate a network of more than 10,000 charging points in Shenzhen, China, with a plan to expand to more locations in China.
Wang Chuanfu, BYD chairman and president, said: “The automotive industry is undergoing significant centurial changes, and the development of new energy vehicles is an irresistible trend. Shell is the world’s leading energy company, with businesses worldwide, making extraordinary contributions to meeting growing energy demands.
“BYD is willing to sincerely cooperate with Shell and seize the historic chance of new energy vehicles, providing consumers with high-quality service in charging facilities and new energy vehicles consumption and creating vital development opportunities.”
István Kapitány, Shell Mobility Global executive vice president, said: “Shell has significant ambitions to both grow our Mobility business in China as well as to help drivers globally to decarbonise by switching to EVs. This partnership represents a significant step forward in both of these ambitions.
“Together with BYD, we want to deliver a charging experience that is as fast, convenient and comfortable as possible. Both our brands support innovations that enrich the experience of our customers around the world, and this partnership offers exciting opportunities to make the EV experience even better.”
