BYD to roll out ultrafast chargers in Europe

BYD, the world’s largest producer of hybrids and EVs, has announced it will begin rolling out an all-new ultrafast charging network within the next 12 months across Europe, in a bid to bolster its market share across the region.

Confirming that it will work with existing local infrastructure companies, instead of going it alone, BYD said its new initiative will be a “game changer that will boost consumer confidence in electric driving”.

Among the chargers it will install at public locations and its dealers will be BYD’s latest megawatt (1000kW) flash chargers, which will help support the introduction of the flagship quick-charging BYD HAN and the BYD Sealion 8 SUV.

According to the EV-maker, plug in your EV to a megawatt charger and you can add as much as 400km of range in just five minutes, narrowing the gap between electric cars and filling a combustion-powered car with petrol or diesel.

The timing of the new network coincides with BYD opening its first European factory in Hungary before the end of this year.

The need for the chargers, BYD says, is the brand’s incredible sales growth of 10 per cent per month, with the fear that the extra EVs on European roads will begin putting pressure on the existing charging network, pushing it to breaking point.

In the first four months of this year BYD sold 41,409 cars in Europe, up from 10,453 sold in the same period last year.

The arrival of the megawatt charger pips Europe’s Ionity network, which is in the process of rolling out 600kW chargers in the region, and most Tesla Superchargers, which only charge at up to 250kW.

BYD says it will prioritise its dealer network, which should be among the first to receive its next-gen megawatt chargers.

In China the car-making giant has already begun building 4000 of its megawatt chargers, all of which are expected to be online in coming months.

In Australia, BYD says there are fewer than 40 charging stations operating in Australia capable of providing charging speeds up to 350kW.

Sadly, BYD has not yet made any announcement on supporting our charging infrastructure Down Under.

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