Has BYD Just Solved The Biggest Problem Holding Back EV Van Sales?
19/03/2025 10:11 Share
Has BYD Just Solved The Biggest Problem Holding Back EV Van Sales?
It might be possible to charge an electric van in the time it takes to fuel a conventional one very soon, according to leading EV company BYD.
The Chinese manufacturer, which currently has the BYD ETP3 as its commercial offering in the UK, is touting the development of its extraordinary Super e-Platform, which is capable of managing a one-megawatt (1000kW) recharge.
This means, at its peak, it would be possible to add two kilometres of range per second during recharging to a model built on a Super e-Platform. This means charging such a vehicle for five minutes would be enough for 400km (249 miles).
BYD, which started life as a battery manufacturer and therefore sources its own materials to develop its own brand of battery packs, says it has created its own automotive-grade silicon carbide (SiC) power chip to handle the higher voltage rates.
The aim is to eradicate one of the big stumbling blocks to adopting EVs with many sceptical towards making the change due to the lengthy period required to recharge a model sufficiently. As it stands, most electric models using a rapid charger require around 30mins to reach an 80% charge, while lower voltage home-based charging can take hours.
While getting the full benefit of this ultra rapid charging requires a specially designed charging facility, BYD says it is committing to installing its own publicly accessible ports in much the same way American EV competitors Tesla has.
BYD is also researching the possibility of allowing existing models developed around an earlier platform to be upgraded to accommodate the faster charging facilities.
For now, BYD offers just one commercial vehicle in the UK, but has recently revealed its first LCV (large commercial van) in Europe – the BYD E-VANI – which is tipped to reach these shores later in the year as a pure EV rival to the Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
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