"In China, BYD is currently building 4,000 1.5MW charging stations across the country, with plans to roll out 20,000 by the end of this year.
Although not quite as ambitious, a BYD spokesperson for the European side of the business told me that the company is targeting 2,000 1.5mW Flash Charging stations across Europe before 2026 comes to a close."
I'm fascinated by the economics of this. How does BYD make money on this? Do they run the chargers at a profit? How much will this work out per km for drivers compared to diesel or gasoline?
People think of BYD as a budget car marker, but this to support its luxury brand Denza. The Denza Z9 GT EV has a range of 1,036 km (644 miles) on these chargers. I'm guessing having the best charagers is going to be seen as premium/luxury too.
'Ready in 5, full in 9' โ this Chinese EV charges to 70% in only 5 minutes, has a 644-mile range, and it's coming to Europe in April
Yes, but it is already difficult connecting a new EV charging installation with a good number of 350kW chargers in busy places. Your domestic electricity supply is probably about 60A at 230V, meaning a maximum of 13.8kW per home. 1.5MW is the total maximum electricity demand of about 100 homes, but the actual average usage is more like 300W power home, so 1.5MW is more like 4,900 homes - a small town.
An installation at a service station with a modest 6 chargers would be 9MW, which is more than the power capacity of the median power plant in the UK (which is 5-6MW)