BYD to Deploy 3,000 Ultra-Fast Charging Stations in Europe, Sparking Debate with BMW

BYD has officially announced plans to bring its cutting-edge ultra-fast charging technology to the European market. The company aims to deploy 3,000 ultra-fast charging stations across Europe within the next 12 months, as part of a broader global strategy that includes a total of 6,000 planned stations in overseas markets.

The technology being introduced to Europe mirrors the specifications used in China, boasting a maximum charging power of up to 1,500kW. This makes it the fastest public charging infrastructure announced in Europe to date, significantly outperforming current mainstream fast-charging solutions.

In terms of performance, vehicles equipped with BYD’s second-generation Blade Battery can charge from 10% to 70% in just 5 minutes, and from 10% to 97% in only 9 minutes. Even in extreme cold, the system remains highly efficient: in temperatures as low as -20°C, a 20% to 97% charge takes 12 minutes. At -30°C, the charging time increases by only 3 minutes, maintaining a 12-minute window for a 20% to 97% charge.

Notably, these new charging stations will not be exclusive to BYD vehicles; they will be open to other brands as well. Furthermore, BYD plans to leverage existing charging networks for collaborative construction to avoid redundant investment. The first models to benefit from this infrastructure in Europe will be the Denza Z9GT and the Denza D9 DM-i.

However, the announcement has met with skepticism from industry peers. A BMW executive in charge of battery production commented, “One must always remain cautious regarding such announcements. Optimizing a single metric often requires compromises elsewhere. We could certainly increase charging speeds, but that would necessitate sacrificing other critical factors of the battery.” The executive implied that an singular focus on charging speed could come at the expense of battery longevity and overall reliability.