BYD has run a successful demo of its new Flash Charger in the UK, adding 300 miles of range to the Denza Z9 GT in 8 minutes.  

The BYD Flash Charger is a new, super-powerful rapid charging station that can deliver up to 1,500kW (also referred to as 1.5 megawatt) charging speeds, and the Chinese manufacturer has stated that it intends to have 300 Flash Chargers installed in the UK before the end of 2026. Mainland Europe will also see a rapid rollout of Flash Chargers, with some 3,000 sites expected to be in action before the end of the year.  

For some context, the most powerful ultra-rapid chargers currently in the UK and Europe are 400kW, so BYD’s new Flash Chargers offer more than triple the previous maximum rapid charging power. It’s claimed that it can deliver a 20-70% charge into a large capacity, 122kWh car in five minutes, or a full top up to 97% in nine minutes. Even very cold temperatures of -30degC will only add around three minutes to that total charge time. 

I went along to see the demo, and it is incredibly impressive how quickly the charger works. You wouldn't be able to leave it while you went in to use the services, as you'd end up blocking the charger while the car sat there, fully charged! It really isn't much slower - if at all - than filling a petrol car with fuel. 

“We will initially roll out around 35 to 40 Flash Charger stations to various BYD dealers around the country,” explained Bono Ge, country manager for BYD UK and Ireland, “before installing more in various locations on the motorways and in various retail stops – like KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks. Then we’ll also be looking to install near airports and train stations.”

Of course, if you want to make full use of the BYD Flash Charger’s maximum charging potential, you will need an electric car capable of charging at those speeds. At the moment, the first car coming to the UK that can charge at 1,500kW will be the Denza Z9 GT, which gets the new BYD Blade Battery 2.0 that is compatible with flash charging. The Denza (a premium brand within the BYD portfolio) rivals the Porsche Taycan, and will be on sale in the UK and Europe before the end of 2026 as both an EV and a long-range PHEV. 

However, the BYD Flash Chargers use the same CCS connection as almost every EV on sale, and will be available to any electric car. Just remember that the car’s charging will be limited by its own hardware, so if you plug a BMW iX3 into a 1,500kW BYD Flash Charging station, you will still get 400kW charging speeds at best – because that’s what the car is capable of. 

Similar to the Tesla Superchargers, the BYD Flash Charger stations will offer a reduced price to BYD and Denza drivers: “Prices haven’t been finalised yet, but we hope it will cost around 50p per kWh for BYD drivers,” explained Ge. “However, we will have to charge a similar amount – probably somewhere around 80p per kWh - to other third party charge providers for other EVs, as otherwise they won’t let us install the stations where we’re competing with other chargers.” 

BYD has also designed the Flash Chargers to be easier to use. The cables are mounted to an overhead ‘T’ bar, and slide on rollers, meaning that you don’t have to carry the weight of the cable in order to plug it into the EV – helping to make it more accessible for drivers with limited mobility. 

As for concerns over whether the UK’s grid can support this kind of charging, Diego Pareschi, director of charging for BYD, explained that the chargers don’t rely solely on a grid connection. “The Flash Chargers don’t rely heavily on a grid connection like a traditional high powered EV charging station. We have battery storage next to the power converter, so we don’t need a transformer upgrade. We use a low-level grid connection, and this also allows us to install these where you might not be able to have another high powered charger [that relies solely on mains power].”

Expect to see BYD Flash Charger stations being installed near you, very soon. And it won't be too long before there will be more affordable EVs with flash charging capability, too, as BYD has also confirmed that its new BYD Blade Battery 2.0 will make its way into all BYD electric cars over the next few years.