BEIJING, September 23 — Geely Auto has unveiled ultrafast charging technology that can take an electric vehicle battery from 10% to 70% in just 4.5 minutes, and from 10% to 97% in 8 minutes and 40 seconds. The announcement, made at a launch event in China on Wednesday, puts the Chinese automaker squarely alongside rivals BYD and CATL in a charging-speed race that is reshaping the global EV market. For Indian and wider Asian readers, the immediate takeaway is the sheer pace of the escalation.
BYD, which last year overtook Tesla as the world’s biggest EV maker, launched a new generation of its “blade” battery in March that it said can charge an EV from 10% to 70% in 5 minutes, and from 10% to 97% in 9 minutes. In April, CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker, rolled out technology that can charge an EV from 10% to 80% in 3 minutes and 44 seconds, and from 10% to 98% in 6 minutes and 27 seconds.
Why the race matters across Asia
By comparison, some of the fastest-charging EVs available in the United States currently can take roughly 20 minutes, and U.S. EV fast-charging sessions typically run roughly 20 to 40 minutes, according to analysts.
Lei Xing, an independent analyst of China’s auto industry based in Easthampton, Massachusetts, said China is “way, way, way ahead in terms of multiple players engaged in the charging competition.” Stephen Chan, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings, explained that Chinese automakers are seeking to eliminate the “ultimate barrier” to EV adoption, range anxiety, by narrowing the gap between EV charging and the roughly five-minute refueling experience of gasoline vehicles. The breakthroughs come with caveats.
Chris Liu, a Shanghai-based senior analyst at Omdia, a technology research and advisory group, said the real challenge is whether the battery can accept that level of current quickly and repeatedly without overheating, excessive degradation or internal bottlenecks. Success will also depend on factors including the scale of companies’ charging networks.
Chan noted that the majority of China’s public charging stations still operate below 1 megawatt, while Geely, BYD and CATL’s ultrafast charging technologies rely on higher charging power to reach their full potential, meaning network expansions or grid updates will remain hurdles for large-scale adoption.
The infrastructure buildout
Some in the industry are already taking ambitious steps. BYD is targeting 20,000 superfast charging stations by the end of this year, followed by 30,000 more in 2027 and 40,000 in 2028, bringing the total to 90,000 stations by that time, according to a Deutsche Bank analysis. Chinese automakers face intense competition at home, with more than 100 domestic passenger car brands, and domestic car sales have fallen for months as automakers export more cars overseas.
A focus on technological advancements like ultrafast charging is a way to set themselves apart and try to improve sales. Other countries including the U.S. remain behind China when it comes to ultrafast EV charging.
The next test will be whether Geely’s charging claims hold up in real-world conditions and whether the supporting grid and charging infrastructure can keep pace. For now, the company has planted its flag in a contest that shows no sign of slowing.
