BYD has just announced some EV game changers. Will this put all of your electric worries to bed?

At the recent Atto 2 launch at its new UK headquarters in Uxbridge, BYD gave a presentation highlighting two new advancements in battery technology; one global, one UK-specific.

On the 30th of September, BYD is opening the doors to an all new, in-house battery repair facility in Milton Keynes, the first of its kind in the UK. The goal is to keep BYD vehicles on the road for longer while reducing the cost of maintenance over a vehicle’s lifetime.

While BYD passenger cars have only been on sale for the past three years, its range of buses have been on our roads since 2014.

The facility means that BYD will be able to diagnose and repair issues in commercial vehicles and cars which are too complicated to be repaired at dealer-level, without having to replace the whole battery. According to Bono Ge, country manager for BYD UK. “The main reason why batteries are expensive to repair is because of the tools and machinery needed.”

“It could be that only one cell (inside the battery) has lost 20% of its capacity, but the rest are at 95% – the repair centre will be able to identify which cell is faulty and replace just that one.” Not only will the new facility be a battery repair centre, but it’s also going to be a technology centre, helping BYD to better understand battery performance over a vehicle’s lifespan.

BYD’s new ultra-rapid charging technology

Alongside the new battery facility, BYD also announced an all-new battery technology to allow for ultra-rapid charging of its upcoming models, or ‘flash charging’, as it calls it.

BYD’s demonstration clip showed a Chinese-market Han L gaining 20km worth of battery charge in just 10 seconds – enough to top up its battery in around 6 minutes, taking into account the charging rate slowing down as the charge level increases.

To achieve such a rate, BYD has further developed its ‘blade’ battery tech, making it capable of charging at 1000kW. When asked about when the technology is coming to the UK, BYD UK suggested it would likely arrive in 2026, in time for the launch of the new Z9 GT from its Denza luxury sub-brand, the first 1000kW-capable model arriving on our shores.

According to Bono Ge, “The challenge in the UK is the power capacity. The output is one megawatt, but it’s the energy storage which is the key.”

The UK doesn’t currently have megawatt-capable charging infrastructure, so BYD is essentially developing enormous power-banks, if you will, storing energy from the slower power grid and keeping it ready to charge cars at the 1000kW rate.

With this new ultra-rapid charging tech and what could be a solution to battery longevity, could the tide be turning on the burden of EV ownership?

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