Chips & Hardware
BYD unveils battery pack with 5-minute ultra-fast charging
BYD has unveiled a new battery pack capable of charging from 10% to 70% in five minutes, provided it is paired with the company's Flash Charging hardware.
On Thursday, Chinese automaker BYD unveiled a new battery pack, the Blade Battery 2.0, which is slated to debut in the Yangwang U7 full-size luxury sedan. According to BYD, the pack is capable of charging from 10% to 70% in five minutes. Even in cold weather of –4°F or –20°C, the battery pack can charge from 20% to 97% in under 12 minutes.
However, this ultra-fast charging time is only possible when paired with the company’s new Flash Charging EV chargers, which deliver 1.5 megawatts of power. For comparison, fast chargers in the U.S. and Europe tend to top out at 350 kW, though 500 kW chargers are increasingly common. BYD previously rolled out a 1 megawatt charging system that required two 500 kW cables. The company has completed 4,200 Flash Charging stations in China, with a goal of adding about 16,000 more. The Blade Battery 2.0 uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry, which helps lower the cost of electric vehicles by avoiding cobalt or nickel. According to BloombergNEF, LFP packs cost $81 per kilowatt-hour, compared to $128 per kilowatt-hour for nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) packs.
The launch comes as BYD navigates a competitive market. The company reported that its sales volume in January and February 2026 dipped by roughly 36% compared to the year before. BYD faces intense competition from Tesla, Li Auto, Xpeng, Xiaomi, and Zeekr. Historically, BYD was backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which bought a 10% stake in the company in 2008 for $230 million before selling its last shares in 2025 for a return of more than 20x.
On the China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), the Yangwang U7 has a range of just over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). However, the CLTC cycle overstates range by about 35% compared to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) test cycle. In real-world driving, the U7 would likely achieve just over 400 miles on a single charge. This trails the Lucid Air Grand Touring, which has an EPA-rated range of 512 miles on a 117 kWh battery pack. However, BYD’s system can add 240 miles of range in five minutes.
Why it matters
The new battery system could help BYD attract new customers and retain existing ones amid a recent dip in sales and intense competition in the EV market.