China is starting to measure EV charging times in seconds, not minutes | Electrek

Skip to main content

Toggle social menu

Toggle dark mode

Search for:

Submit

Toggle search form

Toggle dark mode

China

DC fast charging

China is starting to measure EV charging times in seconds, not minutes

Jameson Dow | Jul 30 2026 - 7:00 am PT

23 Comments

BYD Flash Charging provides a full recharge in under 10 minutes (Source: BYD)

One of China’s newest EVs is also its fastest-charging, with the ability to fill its battery from 10-70% in 4 minutes and 22 seconds.

But that’s not the only recent announcement of a fast-charging battery that quotes how many seconds it takes to fill up, showing that the race for fast charging has entered a new era which treats seconds as the significant figure, rather than minutes.

Geely subsidiary Lynk & Co. recently launched its new 10 series EVs, complete with extreme fast charging speed. The cars are the first to use Geely’s “Golden Brick” battery, with more models coming soon at various Geely brands.

Meanwhile, BYD already has several vehicles out using its “Blade 2.0” battery, which also offers extremely fast charging.<br>Advertisement - scroll for more content

These two batteries are both on the vanguard of a new generation of Chinese EVs that are making charging undeniably quick, at least if the right infrastructure is available.

Seconds are starting to matter in EV charging times

BYD says its Blade 2.0 can charge from 10-70% in 5 minutes. And Geely one-upped BYD by saying its Golden Brick can charge the same amount in 4 minutes and 22 seconds.

Another major battery manufacturer, CATL, recently showed off a commercial battery that can charge at an 8C rate, allowing a 20-80% charge in 6 minutes and 48 seconds. But that’s actually slow compared to its recent announcement of a consumer light-duty battery that can charge from 10-80% in just 3 minutes and 44 seconds.

CATL’s battery is not yet available in a vehicle, so it isn’t quite apples-to-apples when comparing to the BYD and Geely tech above, both of which are already on the road. But it’s not just a lab test of a cell, it’s a fully formed pack undergoing testing in real fast charging, and it’s from the world’s largest EV battery manufacturer, not some startup making stuff up in the hunt for venture capital.

CATL isn’t the only one with fast charging tech waiting in the wings. FAW group just announced a battery that can charge from 10-70% in 3 minutes and 41 seconds. That’s a slightly slower rate than CATL’s 10-80% in 3:44, but the difference there is mere seconds.

And so, we get to the point: the common thread among all of these is that each of them mention not just the number of minutes, but the number of seconds it takes to get a full charge. So China is now working with a different significant figure – seconds, not minutes.

Do such quick charge times matter?

The public has long felt that charging times are too long, and that EVs need to charge as fast as gas cars.

Never mind that that isn’t really true in practice – EV owners know that charging at home is even easier than going to gas stations, and on roadtrips, your car will often be ready by the time that you’re done with your stop. But the perception, among non-EV owners who are used to the anxiety-causing paradigm of being chained to gas stations, is that EV refueling needs to be substantially similar to the poor experience they’re used to.

There are still benefits. For example, higher power delivery means higher throughput, which means you can get more cars in and out of the same charging spot/station per day, which reduces land use needed. This can be important, particularly in urban environments, especially ones where people don’t have access to home charging.

So, regardless of whether these extremely fast charge times are necessary, the fact of the matter is that they already exist – at least in China.

What’s the best we have in the US?

Meanwhile, in the US, our fastest-charging vehicles have been the Hyundai/Kia E-GMP cars, which can charge from 10-80% in around 18 minutes on the right charger. That’s perfectly fine for roadtrips, especially since a driver will need to take a break every few hours while driving anyway.

But for people who rely on fast charging for all of their charging needs (seriously, try to find a way to charge at home if you can), even 18 minutes of sitting around in your car can feel like a long time. A 3 minute, 41 second charge seems a lot more palatable.

There is one vehicle coming out soon in the US which will be able to charge drastically faster than the E-GMP cars, the Mercedes AMG GT EV. That will be capable of about an 11 minute charge from 10-80% on a 600kW charger, which will put it well in the lead… but it’s going to be limited in production and cost well into the six figures. (In contrast, China’s fastest charging cars can be had for well under $30k)

But that one’s still measured in minutes. The difference...