BYD’s Super e-Platform to Provide 470 km Range From 5 Minutes Charging

BYD’s promise of providing 470 km range from 5 minutes charging has put them firmly ahead in the electric vehicle race, widens gap with Tesla. Its new charging system is known as Super e-platform. Achieving electric vehicle charging speeds comparable to refueling petrol or diesel vehicles has been the elusive next frontier, often cited as the “holy grail” of the EV technological evolution.

BYD will start selling vehicles with the new technology from April. Its founder Wang Chuanfu said in an event at the carmaker’s headquarters in Shenzhen that the first models to get the ultra-fast charging will be the Han L and the Tang L sports utility vehicle. The new tech will allow these cars to reach a speed of 100 km/h in two seconds, Wang said.

The new battery charging platform could provide another boost for BYD, which has come from behind to outgun Tesla as the world’s top EV seller. However, the super e-platform requires new charging infrastructure and the Chinese company has said it will progressively build more than 4000 charging stations in China and elsewhere, designed to support the new technology superchargers.