BYD’s ambitions to roll out its megawatt-capable ‘Flash’ charging system at speed are proving succesful, with the manufacturer announcing that it has now reached 10,000 Flash Charging stations in China alone.
BYD’s rapid expansion of Flash Charging stations continues
BYD has now reached 10,000 Flash Charging stations in China, a milestone hit just six months after opening the first Flash Charging site to the public. The 10,000th station is located in BYD’s home city of Shenzhen. These new charging stations deliver up to 1,500kW of charging power, and a growing number of new BYD models powered by second-generation Blade batteries can accept these super-fast charging speeds. This allows for 10 to 70% battery recharges to take place in as little as five minutes.
The speed of charging has also shaped the layout of many Flash Charging sites. Rather than the conventional parking bay layout used at most charging sites, some Flash Charging stations follow a drive-in, drive-out format, similar to a petrol station, reflecting how briefly some vehicles will need to remain at the location with these megawatt charging speeds. These short charging times are set to be another crucial factor in convincing people hesitant to make the switch to EVs.
Part of BYD’s expansion in China hasn’t just been the creation of new sites, but the conversion of fuel stations to EV-only charging sites as more made the switch. We saw the first example of that earlier this month, with an ongoing partnership with Sinopec leading to the conversion of one of its fuel stations into a dedicated Flash Charging hub. At other Sinopec locations, Flash Chargers are being added to complement existing fuel infrastructure.
BYD previously set a target to reach 20,000 Flash Chargers in China by the end of 2026, and with this rapid growth, it seems the manufacturer is still on track to reach this ambitious target. The automaker’s next steps are to take the Flash Charging technology beyond China. Europe is soon set to receive these chargers, alongside the launch of 1,500kW-compatible cars such as the Denza Z9GT. To find out more about the future of Flash Charge, our recent guest editor piece with BYD Europe’s Director of EV Charging, Diego Pareschi, is worth a read.
