BYD: More than 20,000 flash charging stations will cover 90% of urban areas.

On March 5th, BYD held a press conference for the second - generation Blade Battery in Shenzhen. According to Wang Chuanfu, the chairman of BYD:

The second - generation Blade Battery and fast - charging technology can charge the battery from 10% SoC to 70% SoC in 5 minutes;

Charge the battery from 10% SoC to 97% SoC in 9 minutes;

In an environment of minus 30 degrees Celsius, charging the battery from 20% SoC to 97% SoC will be 3 minutes slower than in a normal - temperature environment.

While releasing the second - generation Blade Battery, BYD also announced that it will build 20,000 fast - charging stations across the country by the end of this year.

BYD's strategy for building fast - charging stations is to utilize the existing charging stations and combine charging and energy storage to deal with possible limitations from the power grid. Li Yunfei, the general manager of BYD's brand and public relations department, introduced BYD's infrastructure construction concept. In terms of site selection, BYD will ensure that first - and second - tier cities are the first places to build fast - charging stations.

In the specific process of building stations, BYD "will not make any modifications to the existing stations". With only three parking spaces, BYD can build a fast - charging system. "One is for storing energy and the main unit, and the other is for charging piles." Li Yunfei compared the construction process of the station - within - a - station to "installing an air conditioner" - "There is no need to increase the capacity. There are already wires at that place, and we can just connect them directly."

One of the main reasons why BYD emphasizes the infrastructure construction is that last year, it realized that market changes sometimes come faster than expected.

In 2025, BYD released the megawatt fast - charging technology and launched two new models, the BYD Han L and Tang L. Li Yunfei summarized that the new models "received a very good response when they were first launched", but at that time, BYD "had not adjusted many hardware and software well", and at the same time, the prices of some popular fuel - powered cars were reduced. The market situation changed rapidly. Therefore, before the press conference of the second - generation Blade Battery, "BYD built many fast - charging piles across the country and tested all the hardware", and set the goal of "striving to have a fast - charging station every 5 kilometers in urban areas".

Li Yunfei believes that this is a win - win situation for BYD, its partners, and consumers. He told 36Kr that BYD has calculated that in the public charging stations in some cities, "the overall average daily utilization rate of the existing dozens of parking spaces is only 5%", "Once BYD's fast - charging stations are established, they will bring a huge amount of traffic to the existing charging stations", and "the overall utilization rate of the charging stations will be much higher".

For BYD, improving the charging speed and widely building fast - charging stations are proactive strategies in the face of industry competition. Li Yunfei predicts that more than a dozen models equipped with the second - generation Blade Battery, both those already on the market and those to be launched, will generate considerable market efficiency this year. For consumers, the efforts of leading enterprises like BYD to tackle the pain points of electric vehicles will undoubtedly continuously upgrade their car - using experience.

The following is a dialogue between Ling Heping, the deputy dean of BYD's Automotive Engineering Research Institute, Li Yunfei, the general manager of BYD's brand and public relations department, and 36Kr, etc. The content has been edited:

Question: What is BYD's plan for the construction of station - within - a - stations?

Li Yunfei: We will first promote this in some provinces. Once an agreement is reached in a province, everyone in that province can enjoy the convenience. So I believe that the station - within - a - station is a win - win situation for BYD and its partners.

For example, in the public charging stations in cities, there are dozens of parking spaces, and the overall average daily utilization rate is only 5%. Even when we asked about gas stations, the average daily utilization rate of one fueling gun in a gas station is 50 vehicles. But it will be different when we arrive. First of all, when we go there, for example, in southern Shaanxi, we can build a system with just three parking spaces. If the local area is willing to provide more parking spaces for us, that would be even better, and I can build two or three sets. Each set only needs three parking spaces, one for storing energy and the main unit, and the other for charging piles.

Moreover, there is no need to increase the capacity. There are already wires at that place, and we can just connect them directly. In the process of building station - within - a - stations in the past few months, we basically don't need to do basic construction such as digging the foundation. Many things have been pre - adapted, just like installing an air conditioner.

Previously, we launched 10 models equipped with the second - generation Blade Battery. The other models will basically be launched between March and early April because the production and mass supply of the batteries to the terminals may be a little later. The large - scale market efficiency should appear after April. Currently, we are still very optimistic.

Question: What improvements has BYD made in battery materials, structural design, etc. to achieve ultra - fast charging?

Ling Heping: The improvement of the battery is the comprehensive result of various dimensions. BYD analyzes based on a large amount of past data to determine which aspects can be improved and which aspects can be balanced in design. This includes how to open up the ion channels. During ultra - fast charging, ions may be locally deposited in some parts of the battery during the charging process. The planar design of the deposition area is one of the ways to solve the problem. Our team now has many doctors, and our large - scale scientific facilities provide a basis for our analysis.

Question: How much of the country's area will the 20,000 charging stations that BYD plans to build cover? How long will it take to achieve the goal of having such a charging station every 5 kilometers in urban areas?

Li Yunfei: Our more than 20,000 fast - charging stations can basically cover 90% of urban areas. We have made calculations before. And we will also ensure that first - and second - tier cities are the first places to build fast - charging stations.

Question: Mr. Wang said yesterday that no one understands batteries better than BYD. Where does BYD's confidence come from?

Li Yunfei: BYD was the first in the industry to engage in battery production. Since 2002, under the leadership of Mr. Wang, BYD has been the first to invest in lithium iron phosphate as the core technical route for power batteries for a long time. BYD was the first to conduct the acupuncture test and also the first to launch the megawatt fast - charging battery. Secondly, in the energy storage field, our global shipment volume ranked first in 2025. We haven't talked much about this in the past few years, but our shipment volume was 60GWh, ranking first in the world.

In 2008, BYD built energy storage power stations globally, all using lithium iron phosphate. At that time, our view was that more - secure lithium iron phosphate must be used for energy storage. This year, we will communicate more with the outside world and share the situation of our energy storage industry with everyone.

Question: After the release of the second - generation Blade Battery, is there a plan to discontinue the first - generation Blade Battery? Is it expected that the proportion of external supply of the second - generation Blade Battery will increase?

Li Yunfei: The first - generation and second - generation Blade Batteries will coexist. We also want to give customers more choices. If some customers are not interested in fast - charging, they can still consider the existing first - generation Blade Battery. We also provide optional schemes for new models. After all, there are still many users who charge at home, and the existing battery range has already met the needs of many consumers.

Moreover, to some extent, this press conference is for some users who are still considering buying fuel - powered cars. We have conducted research, and the proportion of users who still want to buy fuel - powered cars due to charging problems is quite high.

Regarding the topic of external battery supply, there are already several domestic and foreign brands cooperating with us. Some brands will actively label it. The Blade Battery was open before and will be in the future. However, in the early stage of the second - generation Blade Battery, I believe that other industry players are also watching how BYD uses it. And there is a process of increasing production. In the future, we will supply externally according to the progress of our business, the matching of our own production capacity, and the needs of customers.