Dongfeng is gunning for BYD with its latest tech reveal – the Chinese manufacturer has revealed a new charger that rivals BYD’s Flash charging setup, with a 1,500kW capability that the company says can be scaled up to 2,400kW in the future.
Now we’re not saying there’s a bit of a rivalry between Dongfeng and BYD, but the former’s website has the slogan “Drive your dreams” emblazoned over a picture of the company’s model State-owned Dongfeng held an event at its Global Innovation Centre in Wuhan, with initial examples of the new charge point rolling off the production line for further prototype testing.
The unit has been designed to be flexible, operating at a peak of 1,500kW and 1,500 amps across a window that runs from 150V to 1,000V.
The charger can also be paired with multiple cabinets in parallel, to boost capacity, and Donfeng says that it is developing versions of the tech with integrated energy storage, to boost charging when the grid connection itself isn’t strong enough.
Most of the latest rapid charging EVs are on 800V architectures, but recent Chinese launches have featured 900V tech and Dongfeng also unveiled its new 1,000V drive unit that is set to be installed in its Epicland sub-brand that the company has started with Huawei.
Could we see some of the ultra-fast charging tech come to the UK as part of Dongfeng's recently announced deal with Stellantis?
The newly revealed drive unit is equally impressive as the charge point, with built-in compatibility with lower voltage chargers and the capability to be scaled up to 1,200V, with Dongfeng saying that it’s leaving some space for future technological advancements.
The company says that its new motor has a 408hp power output, but has been designed to be as efficient as possible, with minimal losses and high-powered regen capability.
Battery charging speeds is the latest front in the battle to be seen as the best EV maker in China, with another company, Hongqi, saying that it too has developed a charging system that can be BYD’s Flash tech that can get from 10–70% charge in five minutes.
Hongqi, which makes big fancy limos, says it has got that time under four minutes. Exciting times, but we won’t believe any of it until we see it in action at a service station on the M40… lucky for us, BYD has said it plans to open 300 of its new Flash chargers in the UK before the end of the year, with 20,000 planned across China.
