Chinese EV giant unveils five-minute charging

Chinese EV giant BYD this week unveiled a new system it says grants electric vehicles the ability to charge as quickly as conventional gas-powered cars. We live in charged times, indeed.

The specs: The company’s next-gen EV battery and charging system can travel ~250 miles on a single five-minute charge, according to BYD founder Wang Chuanfu.

• By comparison: Tesla’s latest Superchargers add up to 168 miles of range in 15 minutes, while Mercedes-Benz’s new entry-level CLA electric sedan can add ~200 miles in 10 minutes of charging.

BYD’s charging system will first be introduced next month in two new models priced below $40,000. It will also underpin many future vehicles from BYD, China’s largest automaker by market share (15%), which is building 4,000+ ultra-fast EV chargers across China to match its new system.

But…The Chinese EV giant was light on specifics related to its new breakthrough, such as the battery chemistry or size. And the history of EV batteries is full of exaggerated claims from automakers related to charging speeds and driving ranges.

How to charge sales

Should a similar system make it to the US, analysts say it would address some of the major obstacles to widespread EV adoption.

The top three barriers holding vehicle shoppers back from purchasing an EV, according to a recent J.D. Power report:

1. Lack of charging station availability (51%)
2. Time required to charge (49%)
3. Limited driving distance per charge (47%)

The US is home to ~200,000 public EV charging ports. ~75% are Level 2 chargers, which add 20-40 miles per hour of charging, while the other ~25% are Level 3 chargers (or DC chargers) that add 180-240 miles of range in 20-60 minutes.

Big picture: EVs accounted for ~8% of all new cars sold in the US last year (1.3 million total) and ~20% of new cars sold globally, both of which represent record highs.