BYD will bring 1000kW electric car charging technology to the UK with the new Denza Z9 GT shooting brake.
Launched earlier this year in China on the new BYD Han L saloon and BYD Tang L SUV, the company's new 'flash charge' functionality can theoretically add up to 249 miles of range in just five minutes - several times quicker than any EV currently on sale.
Originally, BYD planned to install 5000 1000kW (one megawatt) chargers – which are 1000V and have a maximum current of 1000A – across China in the first year after launch, but Autocar understands the roll-out rate has been far quicker than expected and it's now targeting some 15,000 units there in the same period.
BYD is now planning to take the technology global, and vice-president Stella Li has said that, as "one of the most important markets", the UK is in the frame to be an early adopter, with BYD already preparing to install the first megawatt chargers in the country by the end of 2025.
The company hasn't given a timeframe for the UK roll-out but is understood to be in talks with companies that could partner it for the installation of the new devices.
It remains to be seen how they will be integrated into the UK's national grid, but Autocar understands that the devices can be powered – at least in part – by on-site battery packs, topped up by solar panels.
"We are doing the work now, and then we will start by the end of this year. You will see them in different places," Li said, without giving an indication of the size of the planned network.
The Z9 GT is due on sale in the UK from the first quarter of 2026, and the first megawatt chargers are likely to be installed at Denza's new bespoke dealerships to support that, ahead of a wider nationwide roll-out.
Li said "all the Denzas will have that technology", but the B5 SUV and D9 MPV that will follow the Z9 into the UK next year are plug-in hybrids, so that will apply only to all-electric Denza models coming later.
They will be by far the fastest EV chargers in the UK; currently that title is held by the 480kW devices operated by Helix Renewables in Blackpool.
BYD's 1000kW devices feature two 500kW cables that combine to give the maximum output when plugged in simultaneously to the Z9's two charging ports.
Li said that unlike the majority of Tesla's Superchargers, the new units won't be limited to Denza models: "The flash charging stations can also work with other cars. The only problem is that the car determines the power. Our cars can take all the power."
Add your comment