China EV maker BYD says new cars can be charged in 5 minutes

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD says its new cars can be charged in almost the same time it takes to refill a gas engine vehicle at the pump, giving the world’s top EV seller a major advantage in a highly competitive market. 

BYD’s new 1 megawatt flash chargers can power vehicles in five to eight minutes, according to the company, which plans to build 4,000 new charging stations across China. 

Long charge times and so-called range anxiety around limited access to charging stations are often what holds motorists back from making the switch to electric cars. BYD says its new chargers can power vehicles for about 250 miles in five minutes.

“To completely solve users’ anxiety over charging, our pursuit is to make the charging time for EVs as short as the refueling time for fuel vehicles,” BYD founder Wang Chuanfu said in a statement.

BYD shares soared 6% to a record high on the news Monday, raising its market value to almost $162 billion. Tesla shares, by contrast, sank 4.8%.

BYD, short for Build Your Dreams, has started pre-selling its new range of vehicles, called Han L and Tang L.

In 2024, BYD produced 1,777,965 battery-powered EVs, compared with Tesla which produced 1,773,443 vehicles that same year. 

Some EV fans have soured on Elon Musk-owned Tesla, as Musk takes on a leading role in the Trump administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Tesla sales dropped 1.1% in 2024, marking the EV-maker’s first annual sales decline in more than a decade.

Some liberal-leaning customers say they have sold their Tesla’s to distance themselves from Musk, while investors have also expressed concern that Musk’s political actions are hurting the brand. With the billionaire at the helm, DOGE has abruptly terminated thousands of federal workers, causing turmoil across multiple agencies. 

Tesla executives last week sent an unsigned letter to the U.S. trade representative warning that President Trump’s foreign trade policies could be harmful to domestic EV-makers. The company raised concerns over retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. that would make Tesla vehicles more expensive, and could dent overseas demand. 

contributed to this report.