China's BYD just supercharged its electric vehicle competition with Tesla Motors, jolting the global EV market with a new charger it says will provide more than just power.
The EV maker unveiled Super e-Platform, an ultra-fast charging system that it claims will blow away rivals, notably Elon Musk and Co.
"Batteries are the backbone of EV competition, influencing key factors like range, charging speed, durability and cost efficiency," Rania Gule, a senior market analyst at XS.com, told The National.
"Faster charging technology, such as BYD's new five-minute charger, could change consumer perception."
What is BYD's new supercharger?
The Super e-Platform battery and charging system can hit a peak speed of 1,000 kW, BYD founder Wang Chuanfu said during its unveiling on Tuesday.
That would give an EV enough power to travel up to 470km in just five minutes of being plugged – almost on par with refuelling a petrol car.
The new technology aims to "fundamentally solve users' charging anxiety", according to Mr Wang.
"Our pursuit is to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as the refuelling time of fuel vehicles," Mr Wang said.
But, more importantly, Super e-Platform is meant to "fundamentally solve users' charging anxiety".
What is charging anxiety?
Charging anxiety is one of the biggest concerns for EV owners: it is their worry that charging stations are unreliable, for reasons unable to find an available charging point or if the equipment is faulty or out of service.
That is different from range anxiety, which charging anxiety is a result of: the former is, as its name implies, the worry of EV owners that their vehicle's power is not enough for a journey.
Aside from leaving home or origin with ample or full charge, it is advised that EV owners map out charging points along their way, in the event a jolt is needed for their EVs.
Currently, one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption is charging time, as most fast chargers take 20 to 30 minutes for a significant charge, while standard home chargers take hours.
A five-minute charger, "if widely available and cost-effective, would dramatically reduce range anxiety and make EVs as convenient as refuelling a gasoline car", Ms Gule said.
How does Super e-Platform stack up against others?
The BYD Super e-Platform’s 470km-in-five-minutes capability dwarfs the best from Tesla. The fastest Tesla V4 superchargers will peak at 500kW when they are launched this year; the fastest current Tesla Superchargers can only go as far as 275km in 10 minutes.
Mercedes-Benz’s CLA EV, on the other hand, is slightly better – but still far off – offering 325km in 10 minutes.
Not even BYD's peers come close to it. Li Auto – whose chief executive Li Xiang reportedly said in a Tuesday Weibo post that it is making moves towards fully autonomous driving – has one EV that can race to a range of 500km in 12 minutes.
Price, however, remains a major concern: if new battery technology adds to the cost, mainstream adoption in fleet operations will face delays, said Rahul Singh, managing director of Thrifty and Dollar Car Rentals in the UAE.
"Legacy automakers and Chinese EV manufacturers may focus on scaling production and localised battery manufacturing to lower costs, making EVs more accessible," he told The National.
How would Tesla and others respond?
BYD sits on top of the global EV market, after famously overtaking Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023, despite record sales from the latter.
In that year, BYD sold 3,014,692 vehicles, nearly two thirds more compared to Texas-based Tesla, according to latest data from industry tracker EV volumes.
Tesla and other major EV manufacturers would likely respond to BYD’s new charger in several ways, depending on its feasibility, cost and market impact, Ms Gule said.
More importantly, BYD's competition would evaluate whether BYD’s technology "is a breakthrough or a niche innovation before making major strategic shifts", she said.
"While BYD and other Chinese EV makers may experiment with premium pricing for this new technology, their competitive advantage lies in affordability. Unless production costs force a price increase, they are likely to integrate fast charging while maintaining their low-cost strategy to dominate global EV markets."
Will this be a big deal in the UAE?
It is unclear when Super e-Platform will be rolled out. The National has reached out to BYD for comment.
Any improvements in EV batteries are to be welcomed in a market like the UAE, as it is a "defining factor" in adoption where consumers prioritise convenience, Mr Singh said.
For relevant industries such as car rentals – which is popular in the Emirates – the unit economics remain a challenge for these companies to fully integrate EVs into their mainstream offerings, until – just like the aforementioned dynamic on range anxiety – such technology is widespread and cost-effective, he added.
"Until battery prices drop significantly, the rental industry will struggle to absorb costs without passing them on to consumers," Mr Singh said.
