Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Electric Vehicles: "BYD shares jump to a record high after unveiling five-minute EV battery"

Tesla is not taking the news at all well despite battery giant CATL having made a similar announcement back in  October.*

From Bloomberg via CNBC TV18 (Mumbai), March 18:

BYD Co. shares jumped to a record after the Chinese automaker unveiled a line-up of electric vehicles that it says can charge almost as fast as it takes to refuel a regular car.

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The automaker’s stock climbed as much as 6% at the open of trading in Hong Kong Tuesday, lifting its market value to almost $162 billion — more than Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG combined.

BYD’s new battery and charging system was capable of providing around 400 kilometers (249 miles) of range in 5 minutes in tests on its new Han L sedan, Chairman and founder Wang Chuanfu said Monday. The manufacturer will start selling vehicles with the new technology next month.

Being able to charge a car in the time it takes a combustion engine vehicle to pull in and out of a gas station could convince drivers who aren’t willing to make lengthy stops to go electric.

“We believe this is another sign that BYD is undergoing a strategic shift,” Macquarie Capital analysts, including head of China autos Eugene Hsiao, wrote in a note. “Rather than competing on price, vehicle design, or entering new product niches, BYD appears to be looking for ways to leverage its scale and core EV technologies to differentiate in a highly competitive market.”

“By directly addressing one of the key hurdles to BEV adoption (charging speed), the company is offering customers a clearer path to switch from ICEs to EVs,” they wrote.....

....MUCH MORE 
....And on fast charging:
Seven years ago - "DOE to fund $15M for fast electric vehicle charging research":
The fast-charging ability is going to be crucial for mass acceptance of electric vehicles if they are to be anything more than commuter-type transportation that can recharge overnight at home.
 
Watch Out Elon: Sweden's Polestar Extreme Fast Charging EV Prototype Can Add 100 Miles Of Range In Five Minutes

"China's top EV battery maker announced a breakthrough, but top boffin isn't convinced"
 
Watch Out Elon: "Wireless EV Charging Hits Key Benchmark"

Chinese EV battery maker CATL unveils LFP battery with 1,000 km range

It's not just the 620 mile range. The battery can handle extremely fast charging. From Electrek, also April 25:

CATL unveils world’s first LFP battery with 4C ultra-fast charging for 370-mi in 10 mins

"....that can add 370 miles (600 km) range in 10 minutes..."

And the flywheels? From the time CATL introduced the predecessor to the new battery, July 11, 2023:

"CATL announces new battery with 400 kilometer range on 10 minute charge"
Have I ever mentioned the "Flywheel Effect?"
*****
I think we're witnessing the Flywheel Effect in action at, not just China's but the world's largest battery producer.
Incremental advantages lead to overwhelming business success. I don't know if there are 16,000 researchers in the entire rest of the battery biz. If that's the case, how can they catch up to CATL? 

Amazing what being able to hire 16,000 researchers can lead to,

And just for grins and giggles, from Reuters, April 29:

CATL boss visits Elon Musk's Beijing hotel on Tesla CEO's surprise trip
 
***
Here's six months of Tesla's price action via TradingView:
  Chart Image
 
$224.64
 
down $13.37
(-5.62%) last and approaching the $217.02 low from March 11.