What Does BYD’s New Super-Fast Charging System Mean For The Future Of EVs?

The electric vehicle market faces a smattering of barriers, a large one being rangexiety (a fear of being stranded after running out of battery power between EV charging points). While the number of public charging points in the UK has doubled since 2022, rangexiety is especially pertinent here in the UK, where charging points are concentrated in London and the South East – meaning zooming off on a countryside staycation in your EV can be pretty stressful. Likewise, charging your EV can eat into your journey time, taking anywhere from 30 minutes to 12 hours to fully charge your car (most people settle for a top up). But news from China’s leading EV maker BYD could change things. Here’s what we know about BYD’s new super e-platform.

BYD founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu

BYD Unveils Super-Fast EV Charging System

Chinese marque BYD has unveiled a brand new charging system that, with a few more tweaks, could make it possible to charge electric vehicles as quickly as filling up a standard car with fuel. Called the super e-platform, the system will reportedly be capable of charging speeds up to 1,000 kilowatts – giving EVs a 249 mile range in just five minutes. For context, this is twice as fast as Tesla’s superchargers, which offer up to 500 kilowatts. As of spring 2024, there were around 1,400 Tesla superchargers in the UK.

BYD – which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams’ – unveiled its super e-platform on Monday via a livestreamed event from the company’s Shenzhen HQ. As well as rolling out the charger, BYD revealed it would be building its first charging network across China, with 4,000 units planned for the initial rollout – though company founder Wang Chuanfu didn’t put a timeline on his plans.

‘In order to completely solve our users’ charging anxiety, we have been pursuing a goal to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as the refuelling time of petrol vehicles,’ Wang said on the livestream. ‘This is the first time in the industry that the unit of megawatt (charge) has been achieved on charging power.’

Up to now, BYD drivers have largely had to rely on other EV marque’s public chargers.

BYD Dolphin Active

What Does It Mean?

If BYD continues its growth record (the marque sold 4.2 million units in 2024 and is forecast to sell 5–6 million in 2025), we could be seeing a real democratisation of the market. And if the super e-platfom has a successful rollout in China, we’re certain it’ll spread overseas soon after. America is certainly on BYD’s hitlist: it’s the nation with the most EVs after China. They’re trailed by Germany, the UK, France and Norway – meaning European expansion is almost certainly on the cards.

The entry-level price for a BYD EV is just £26,000, while the Tesla Model 3 starts at £40,000, rising to more than £100,000 for the Model X. In 2024, BYD was the UK’s fastest growing car brand after shifting more than 8,700 units. However, Tesla still dominates the road, accounting for approximately one in five EVs on British turf. In February 2025 alone, Tesla sold more than 4,000 cars to British drivers.

Despite its more budget-friendly prices, BYD is considered Tesla’s closest rival – so the news of the super e-platform will certainly shake Tesla owner Elon Musk. Following the announcement of the super e-platform, BYD shares have hit a record high – a stark contrast to tumbling Tesla whose stock has fallen for eight consecutive weeks.

While Musk is under mounting pressure to (successfully) pioneer autonomous vehicles, BYD’s super e-platform might shift Tesla’s attention back to its superchargers. In other words, the super charging race is on – and it’s only a matter of time before more EV marques throw their hats into the ring.

Can I Buy A BYD Car In The UK?

Yes, BYD cars are available in the UK, including the ATTO 3, Seal and Dolphin. The UK is home to a plethora of BYD dealerships, spanning London to Swansea, Chester to Aberdeen. Find your closest dealership at byd.com/uk