Is BYD’s Flash Charging Revolutionary?

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A few days ago, Larry Evans introduced us to BYD’s hot new “Flash Charging,” which is the quickest charging we’ve seen for passenger electric vehicles. In fact, it is a very big deal for multiple reasons. Jennifer Sensiba followed up earlier today to explain some of that, including how electric cars can have smaller batteries (and thus cost less) thanks to this insanely fast charging. Larry, Steve Hanley, and I convened to discuss the technological innovation, BYD in general (including its slow start to the season and reasons for it), the Chinese EV market more broadly, the global EV market, and more. You can check out our full discussion below, and then I’ll come back to the topic in the title.

The more I read and think about this, the more excited I get. I was hesitant to think about this as “revolutionary.” Part of that is that I’ve witnessed EV fast charging gradually get better and  better and better in the past 14 years. So, it just feels like another step forward. Part of it also is that I give much less weight to the need for fast charging — I think it’s typically overhyped and deceives people into thinking fast charging is a much bigger part of EV charging than it is. A lot of people can go all year without needing to fast charge, and few people do it often.

All of that said, I do think this is a huge deal, and it even has me wondering if it’s “revolutionary.” Here are key thoughts popping in my mind:

• One of the biggest things deterring people from buying EVs is the idea that it takes a long time to charge. EV owners all know the two most common questions they get asked about EV ownership — how long does it take to charge, and how far can it drive? With regard to the former, being able to say “5 minutes or so” should quickly dissolve any concerns about that.
• Another one of the biggest things deterring people from buying EVs is range anxiety anxiety. That’s right, not range anxiety — they can’t have that, not having an EV. Rather, it’s the anxiety many people seem to naturally have that if they got an EV, they’d end up with range anxiety — even though that’s very uncommon. However, if a fast charge — or flash charge — just takes 3–9 minutes, how much concern is there really about needing to stop for a charge? And, as far as driving range goes, EVs really have a ridiculous amount of range these days. You can easily drive from Miami to Orlando, or from Philadelphia to NYC and back, on one charge in an average electric car these days.
• You could already use EVs for taxi/ride-hailing service quite easily, and EVs are clearly the preferred option for robotaxi companies, but being able to charge in under 10 minutes really allows for maximum use/utilization of a taxi/robotaxi, improving the business case. That adds a lot more revenue potential for a single car.
• What’s the reason for buying a gas car, even a plugin hybrid, any more? Like, what is the actual argument? In China, at least, BYD isn’t leaving laggards without much to say.

Tracking this industry for so long, it is hard to get into the mindset of people just coming to EVs, or just beginning to think seriously about them. It’s hard to understand concerns, even if I’m ridiculously familiar with them. But when I really try to get myself into that headspace, this improvement in charging from BYD feels big, really big, perhaps revolutionary.