BYD rolls out EV batteries with 5-minute ‘flash charging.’ But there’s a catch.

Chinese automaker BYD unveiled a caller artillery battalion Thursday that the institution says is susceptible of charging from 10% to 70% successful 5 minutes. Taking it to astir 100% takes astir 4 minutes more.

Recharge times similar those would nullify concerns astir electrical vehicles’ charging times — 1 of the fewer places wherever interior combustion engines clasp an advantage. Even successful bitter acold upwind (–4˚ F oregon –20˚ C), the battalion tin complaint from 20% to 97% successful nether 12 minutes, according to BYD. The artillery pack, known arsenic the Blade Battery 2.0 system, is slated to debut successful the Yangwang U7, a full-size luxury sedan.

There is simply a captious caveat to this eye-popping figure. The Yangwang U7 sedan, oregon immoderate different aboriginal BYD conveyance equipped with this next-generation artillery pack, tin lone scope this ultra-fast charging clip erstwhile paired with 1 of the company’s caller Flash Charging EV chargers.

Still, BYD is apt counting connected this flashy charging tech to boost income and springiness it an borderline successful a terms warfare with different Chinese automakers that are rolling retired caller and improved EVs astatine a accelerated clip.

The Shenzhen-based institution was a darling of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway holdings for years. The capitalist bought a 10% involvement successful the automaker successful 2008 for $230 cardinal — agelong earlier it became a Tesla rival and household name. Berkshire sold its past shares successful 2025, returning more than 20x the archetypal investment.

Today, BYD is the world’s largest shaper of EVs — a presumption that different Chinese automakers and Tesla are keen to change. While BYD inactive outpaces competitors similar LiAuto, Xpeng, Xiaomi, and Zeekr, determination has been a caller dip successful sales. The institution reported that its combined January and February income measurement successful 2026 dipped by roughly 36% compared to the twelvemonth before.

Its next-generation artillery strategy could assistance it pull caller customers and clasp existing ones.

The caller Blade Battery 2.0 accomplishes the ultra-fast charging feat by utilizing lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP), a chemistry that automakers are betting volition assistance little the outgo of EVs due to the fact that it avoids the usage of pricy metals similar cobalt oregon nickel. Currently, LFP packs outgo $81 per kilowatt-hour compared with $128 per kilowatt-hour for NMC, according to BloombergNEF.

Because LFP isn’t arsenic vigor dense arsenic different chemistries similar nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), it can’t transportation arsenic overmuch energy, which limits range. As a result, Western automakers astir exclusively usage LFP cells successful their little costly models. But BYD is betting that by speeding up the charging process, LFP tin go acceptable successful much than conscionable low-end EVs.

To deed a five-minute complaint time, BYD has besides developed a caller EV charger it calls Flash Charging, which is susceptible of delivering 1.5 megawatts of electricity. Previously, BYD had rolled retired a 1 megawatt charging strategy for a erstwhile sedan, the Han L, that utilized 2 500 kW charging cables that needed to some beryllium plugged in. In the U.S. and Europe, the fastest chargers thin to apical retired astatine 350 kW, though determination are an expanding fig of 500 kW chargers that are being rolled out.

BYD’s Flash charger stalls person cables draping from overhead towers, which let the cables to service either broadside of the vehicle. It should besides marque plugging successful easier since the cables and charging plug are astir apt beauteous dense to header with the magnitude of powerfulness they’re rated to handle. BYD said it has 4,200 Flash charging stations completed passim China with a extremity of adding astir 16,000 much by the extremity of the year, though we should enactment that the automaker uses the “Flash” sanction to picture its 1-megawatt chargers, too. It besides said it volition adhd grid-scale batteries to the installations to relieve unit connected the grid.

In the U7 full-size sedan, the artillery tin powerfulness the car for conscionable implicit 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) connected the China Light Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), which tends to beryllium optimistic. CLTC overstates scope by astir 35% compared with the much realistic EPA trial cycle. In existent satellite driving, the car would apt beryllium capable to screen conscionable implicit 400 miles connected a azygous charge.

That’s little scope than a Lucid Air Grand Touring, which tin question for 512 miles connected a afloat 117 kWh pack, according to the EPA trial cycle. But being capable to adhd 240 miles successful 5 minutes could marque specified comparisons moot.