Charging is faster than refueling, BYD is going to revolutionize fuel vehicles

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

In just 5 minutes, it can recharge 400 kilometers, and BYD has once again pulled a "big fish" from its technological pool.

On the evening of March 17, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu announced the launch of the Super e-platform. This platform consists of a full-domain kilovolt high-voltage architecture, flash charging battery, megawatt flash charging system, and a motor capable of 30,000 RPM. From the parameters, BYD's series of technologies are at the leading level of global mass-produced vehicle technology.

The declaration of "oil and electricity at the same speed" has caused a seismic shift in the automotive industry. Wang Chuanfu stated that BYD's pursuit is to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as the refueling time of fuel vehicles, achieving "oil and electricity at the same speed" in charging speed.

From the nationwide intelligent driving at the beginning of the year, to the intelligent vehicle-mounted drone system "Lingyuan," and now to the Super e-platform, BYD has continuously thrown out three technological cards, accelerating its electrification layout.

This combination of technology and pricing in marketing has raised the level of market competition to a new height. Car manufacturers that lack reserves in intelligent driving and three-electric technology will quickly fall behind.

Of course, car manufacturers including Geely and Changan are also rapidly catching up. BYD's technological "moat" needs to be deeper and wider to maintain its position at the top of the fierce competition in the new energy vehicle market.

Breakthrough

Before the press conference, BYD's "megawatt flash charging" had already stirred up quite a wave in the market.

1MW (1000kW) charging power is currently at the forefront of the passenger car market. Tesla plans to roll out V4 supercharging stations in China, supporting a maximum charging power of 500kW for passenger car models; XPeng's S5 liquid-cooled supercharging station has a peak power of 800kW; and Voyah's VP1000 can reach a peak charging power of 1000kW, allowing for a range of 167 kilometers in just 3 minutes.

BYD's "megawatt flash charging" can achieve the highest charging voltage of 1000V in global mass production, with a maximum charging current of 1000A, paired with a flash charging battery that supports a 10C charging rate, enabling it to charge 2 kilometers in 1 second and recharge 400 kilometers in 5 minutes.

Wang Chuanfu used fuel vehicles as an example, stating that refueling a fuel vehicle takes 5-8 minutes for a range of about 500 kilometers. This means that with "megawatt flash charging," the recharging speed of new energy vehicles can even exceed the refueling speed of fuel vehicles to some extent, further alleviating users' "range anxiety."

Completing a recharge in 10 minutes is an ideal situation, which requires a series of supporting facilities such as batteries and charging stations. Wall Street Insight found during the actual charging experience at the press conference that the megawatt supercharging reached a peak power of 1MW in about 20 seconds, and after one minute of charging, the power began to decline but stabilized at around 645kW. This data is already better than most supercharging stations currently on the market.

BYD stated that its self-developed global first full-liquid-cooled megawatt flash charging system has a maximum power of 1360kW and occupies only 1.5 square meters. Unlike the bulky charging cables of current fast charging stations, BYD's megawatt flash charging cables are thinner, making it easier for female drivers to handle 1MW fast charging is just the tip of the iceberg of BYD's technological breakthroughs. Lian Yubo, Executive Vice President of BYD Group and Director of the Automotive Engineering Research Institute, stated that to match ultra-high power charging, BYD has developed a 1500V automotive-grade SiC power chip. This SiC is fully self-developed by BYD.

In addition, BYD has also developed a fast-charging blade battery, which reduces the internal resistance of the battery by 50% through ultra-high-speed ion channel technology. The dual electron flow channels reduce heat generation by 50%, and with the ultra-stable self-repairing SEI film, the battery life is increased by 35%, allowing for both high rates and long lifespan.

Another important component of the BYD Super e-platform is a motor with a maximum speed of 30,511 rpm, which is significantly faster than the V8s (27,200 rpm) equipped in the Xiaomi SU 7 Ultra, with a single motor power of 580 kW.

With this motor, the Han L EV achieves a maximum horsepower of 1,102 (total power of 810 kW), enabling a 0-100 km/h acceleration in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 305 km/h.

BYD Senior Vice President Luo Hongbin stated that the 30,000 rpm motor not only increases vehicle speed but also significantly reduces motor weight, shrinks motor size, and improves power density. He noted that the space saved by the motor could accommodate a 20L suitcase.

The Super e-platform will debut on the BYD Han L EV (pre-sale price of 270,000-350,000 yuan) and the Tang L EV (pre-sale price of 280,000-360,000 yuan). Lu Tian, General Manager of BYD Dynasty Network Sales Division, revealed that the Han L and Tang L will also debut the DM-p hybrid technology. With the launch of this series of models, BYD is set to create a huge wave in the B-class car market.

Fierce Battle

The launch of the Super e-platform is not only a refresh of technical parameters but also BYD's declaration of war against fuel vehicles.

Lu Tian bluntly stated at the press conference that the introduction of the Han L and Tang L allows new energy vehicles in the 300,000 yuan price range to compete with million-level sports cars, leaving fuel vehicles with only nostalgia.

Especially as the last layer of anxiety about charging is broken, the replacement of fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles will accelerate. Last year, among the 4.25 million new energy vehicles sold by BYD, plug-in hybrid models accounted for nearly 60%.

The sales of pure electric models are relatively low, with one key factor being consumer concerns about refueling efficiency. BYD aims to reshape user perception through "technological dimensionality reduction": the popularization of fast charging technology will significantly lower the usage threshold for pure electric models, attracting consumers who were previously hesitant due to refueling efficiency.

Next, BYD will release a series of models including the Qin L EV and Seal 05. After the launch of the Super e-platform, these models are also expected to benefit from technology transfer, achieving higher refueling efficiency.

Currently, the pure electric market is still constrained by the structural contradiction of "fast charging popularization in high-end models and insufficient efficiency in mid-to-low-end models." Through technological downscaling, BYD is expected to create a demonstration effect of "fast charging popularization" in the mid-range market, further squeezing the survival space of fuel vehicles while forcing other car manufacturers to accelerate the development of high-voltage platforms.

As mentioned earlier, BYD's megawatt fast charging requires support from multiple levels, including batteries, platform architecture, and charging piles. Especially its fully self-developed 1500V automotive-grade SiC power chip will put many other car manufacturers at a disadvantage As long as technology cannot be surpassed in the short term, BYD can maintain its leading position in the industry in the name of "technology."

The reality is quite harsh. In the past, car manufacturers including Li Auto and ZEEKR have launched fast-charging models and charging stations, but the actual user experience always falls short of the extreme data from the laboratory. The so-called 5C charging rate is practically around 3C in real-world usage.

Previously, when launching the VP1000, Voyah's Director of New Energy Technology Charging and Power Supply System, Yan Kang, revealed that the upcoming large-scale deployment of charging stations will mainly focus on 300kW-600kW charging piles.

Regarding the specific implementation of megawatt fast charging, Wang Chuanfu only stated that 4,000 fast charging stations would be built. However, he did not disclose more information about the timeline for this rollout.

In contrast, as of now, the number of supercharging stations built by ZEEKR and XPeng is around 1,000, while Nio and Li Auto are at the level of 2,000 stations.

Additionally, Wall Street Journal noted that during the operation of BYD's megawatt fast charging, the supercharging stations were also equipped with compatible energy storage systems. However, at the press conference, BYD did not elaborate much on this, and given that the main power grid cannot meet the electricity demand of supercharging stations in the short term, BYD also needs to carry out large-scale supporting construction for its energy storage solutions.

Whether BYD's energy replenishment system can keep pace quickly will be key to whether this technology can truly benefit consumers. Of course, BYD is also considering that the construction of supercharging stations will not meet the needs of most users in the short term, so it has transferred the "dual-gun charging" technology previously exclusive to Tengshi to the Han L and Tang L models, and improved energy replenishment efficiency through "smart boosting" charging technology.

It can be seen that BYD is trying to ensure that energy replenishment efficiency is no longer the Achilles' heel of electric vehicles. This revolution of "oil and electricity at the same speed" may be more lethal than "oil and electricity at the same price," directly rewriting consumer choices through user experience.

Of course, whether BYD's revolution can succeed also depends on whether it can convince users that "charging is faster than refueling," and whether the power grid and battery life can withstand the "megawatt-level" impact. If this challenge can be overcome, 2025 may become a turning point in the fate of fuel vehicles