At an event held at BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen, chairman Wang Chuanfu presented the company's second-generation Blade Battery, emphasizing what he described as a "disruptive" improvement in charging speed under extremely cold conditions. Wang said the new battery can be charged from 20% to 97% in less than 12 minutes at temperatures down to minus 20 degrees Celsius, providing a driving range of 777 kilometres.
Wang further detailed that the updated cells feature greater energy density. According to his remarks, the higher density enables a driving range in excess of 1,000 km for BYD's luxury Denza Z9GT and Yangwang U7 models. He also stated that the batteries have passed safety tests that exceed China’s newly established national standards.
The launch comes as BYD aims to rebuild momentum following a recent sales slowdown in an increasingly competitive domestic electric vehicle market. As part of its broader charging strategy, BYD said it plans to expand its Flash Charging network to 20,000 stations by the end of 2026, with a targeted 2,000 of those stations located on highways. The company reported having constructed more than 4,000 Flash Charging sites as of March 5.
Wang announced these developments from BYD’s Shenzhen base, framing the battery upgrade and the charging network expansion as complementary steps to support vehicle performance and customer convenience under a range of conditions. The performance and safety claims in his presentation were presented as the company's test results and assertions.
Context and implications
The second-generation Blade Battery, as described by BYD's chairman, is positioned to deliver faster charging performance in very low temperatures and higher energy density for longer-range applications in premium models. The company is coupling the product announcement with an ambitious rollout plan for its Flash Charging network to broaden the infrastructure that supports such rapid charging capabilities.