Regular BYD family electric SUVs sold in Australia will one day be capable of recharging as quickly as filling with petrol.
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Electric-car fast-charging technology capable of replenishing a battery from 10 to 97 per cent full in nine minutes will not remain the preserve of the six-figure Z9 GT super wagon from its Denza luxury brand.
That is according to Denza Australia chief operating officer Mark Harland, who told Drive an expansion of the ‘Flash’ charging technology to cheaper models from Denza and BYD, is inevitable.
“I look at the Flash charging the way I look at Formula One,” Harland said in recent weeks.
“So Z9 GT right now is the pinnacle of technology for BYD, Denza – the family, if you will.
“In the coming years – I would say it's not going to happen overnight – in coming years, we take that technology and it trickles down across the range in Denza [and], further in the future, probably BYD.”
The Denza executive did not give a timeline for when Flash charging tech will reach other models, but it is likely contingent on the expansion of the network – which will launch later this year with five locations at Denza dealers – and the rollout of new models.
In China, it is already offered on a variety of BYD group models, from an electric version of the Denza B8 four-wheel-drive – sold in China as the Fangchengbao Bao 8 – to the successor to the small electric SUV currently available in Australia as the BYD Atto 3.
All claim the same market-leading charging times: 10 to 70 per cent in five minutes, and 10 to 97 per cent in nine minutes, with an extra three minutes added for vehicles being replenished in sub-zero climates – a less relevant claim for Australia.
Flash chargers can deliver up to 1500kW – nearly four times what Australia’s current most powerful EV chargers (400kW) can deliver, and 10 times the 150kW plugs common in the country’s capital cities.
The fastest-charging electric car in Australia is the Zeekr 7X RWD, which can replenish its battery from 10 to 80 per cent full in a claimed 13 minutes at up to 450kW – a figure it cannot achieve on current infrastructure.
A Tesla Model Y takes 25 to 30 minutes to charge from 10 to 80 per cent at 175kW to 250kW, depending on model, while today’s BYD Atto 3 needs 40 minutes to cover a 10 to 80 per cent charge, based on Drive testing.
The Denza Z9 GT will be a low-volume vehicle, and with a price above $100,000 – and possibly as high as $160,000, based on European RRPs – only a handful of Australians will get to experience its 850kW tri-motor drivetrain and 2.7-second 0-100km/h time.
Given its 122kWh battery quotes about twice the capacity of the BYD Atto 3 successor, but it claims the same change time, it is presumed that it can accept much higher charging power, closer to the 1500kW maximum of the Flash chargers.
“We're not going to limit ourselves just to those [initial Denza showrooms with Flash chargers],” said Harland.
“I think we had three examples [announced initally; Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide], but we’ll also have Brisbane and Perth.
“As our dealer network multiplies, we'll have Flash charging at a lot of the ship stores – not every store,” noting that the Denza brand launched in December with four showrooms, now expanded to eight, and hoped to reach 20 to 25 by year’s end.
“We'll try to get Flash charging in those flagship stores across the country by Q4 [October to December], essentially is what we're aiming for.”
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
