How Chinese EV manufacturer BYD hopes to drive Tesla off the road

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

The leading Chinese electric carmaker BYD has soared in value after it said its latest batteries charge fast enough to 249 miles of range in only five minutes.

BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares gained 4.1 percent on Tuesday to hit a record high of 408.80 Hong Kong dollars (US $40.58), as investors bet that the company could strengthen its already commanding market position.

The Chinese company is already the world’s biggest manufacturer of battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars that combine a battery and a polluting petrol engine. Investors including Warren Buffett have bet that the company can extend its lead in electric car production—and the sale of batteries to rival carmakers.

Here is what you need to know.

What’s special about the cars?BYD founder Wang Chuanfu—often described as China’s Elon Musk—said flagship models would be able to receive 1 megawatt of power, or 1,000 kilowatts (kW), allowing the company to “completely solve users’ charging anxiety.”

The first models to have the super-fast charging technology will be the Han L saloon and the Tang L SUV. At megawatt speed, the new cars achieve “the same speed of oil and electricity” in terms of charging time.

A 10C rating means it can charge to full in six minutes—every second adds about 1.25 miles in range.

How does in compare with the competition?Tesla narrowly retained its title as the biggest maker of pure electric cars in 2024, but BYD’s announcement appeared to prompt investors to question whether the company run by Musk—distracted by his allegiance to Donald Trump—could fall behind. Most of Tesla’s “supercharger” network—a key part of its appeal to early electric car buyers—can provide enough charge in 15 minutes to drive 172 miles at a power level of up to 250kW, although its latest chargers will reach 500kW.

Tesla shares shed almost 5 percent on Monday; as of Wednesday evening, they remained down about 6 percent from the start of the week.

Eunice Lee, the Asian autos analyst at Bernstein, an investment research company, cited Chinese rivals XPeng and Zeekr, whose respective 5C and 5.5C charging systems can add about 280 miles and 342 miles of range in 10 minutes. She was “generally impressed” by BYD’s claims, after it had lagged behind rivals.

For comparison, a mains plug (standard socket) offers about 2.3 kW of power—compared with the 1,000 kW that BYD claims. In the UK, “ultra-rapid” is generally considered to be above 150 kW, although there are dozens of chargers on main roads as fast as 350 kW.

How is such fast charging possible?The chargers need to deliver ultra-high voltage and ultra-large current at the same time. But big currents, in particular, cause problems for batteries because they tend to generate damaging heat. BYD said it had managed to reduce the internal resistance of the new battery, allowing the highest charging speeds for any production vehicle.

To handle the high voltages, BYD also had to produce a new generation of silicon carbide power chips, it said.

BYD also said it would install a network of 4,000 “flash-charging stations” across China to allow for the fast charging.

Are there any disadvantages?The obvious one is cost: The new electrical technology will add to the cost of producing the vehicle—although the speed of the charging could make the cars more desirable for people with “range anxiety.”

Another big problem will be the cost of energy. Faster charging costs more, because more power is needed. That requires expensive connections to power grids, which mean that the fastest chargers command a big premium.

Added to that, it is unclear what effect such fast charging could have on batteries, which degrade over their lifetimes. In existing technology, regular fast charging comes at the expense of reducing overall range.

Will every car have this tech? No—or not soon, at any rate. Premium carmakers will scramble to keep up with BYD, but in the mass market a lot of the focus is on reducing costs of batteries rather than going for the most advanced. Many drivers—and particularly those with private charging—will rarely need to charge at public chargers, except for the occasional long-distance holiday. Otherwise, they can top up overnight when energy prices are lowest.