“Range anxiety” has been one of the primary reasons consumers have been slow to embrace electric vehicles, but if claims by a Chinese company are true, EVs may have taken a big step forward.
EV firm BYD has introduced its “Super e-Platform” technology, which it said can reach charging speeds so fast that it can produce nearly 250 miles of range in about five minutes. That’s about how long it takes to fill a vehicle’s gasoline tank.
“The ultimate solution is to make charging as quick as refueling a gasoline car,” Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of BYD, said in a press release.
Currently, Tesla’s superchargers offer a charging rate of up to 500 kilowatts, translating into around 168 miles of range in about 15 minutes.
BYD said it plans to build more than 4,000 ultra-fast chargers in China using the new technology but did not say when the project would begin.
Though the company’s claims have not been independently verified, investors appear to take them at face value. BYD’s Hong Kong-listed stock rallied nearly 6% on the announcement.
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