Power up: BYD developing 1500kW chargers; Australian 1MW-plus launch plan under development
Fresh reports suggest BYD is putting the final touches on its second-generation megawatt “flash charging” system capable of supporting 1500kW top-ups.
The news comes as BYD Australia begins pulling together its plan to introduce 1MW-plus charging to its network of dealers.
“Our commitment has always been and … will be to bring the latest tech here,” BYD Australia chief operating officer Stephen Collins told EV Central.
According to leaks shared by a Chinese tech blog via CarNewsChina, the BYD v2.0 flash chargers operate at a DC voltage of more than 1000 volts and have an input capacity of around 2100kW.
Current flash chargers are already capable of delivering peak charging rates of up to 1360kW in real-world conditions, with the new BYD charging poles designed to support 10C charging.
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At that rate, more than 400km of range could be added in under five minutes.
In China, local versions of the full-size BYD Han sedan and BYD Tang SUV, along with other flagship models, are reportedly already capable of receiving a full 10C charge, with a 10–80 per cent top-up said to take less than five minutes for some models.
There’s no official word yet on exactly how the new 1.5MW chargers will translate to real-world charging times, but some observers are predicting a 10–80 per cent charge time of around three minutes — approaching parity with the time it takes to refill a petrol tank.
To cope with such high charging rates, the tech blog claims BYD’s T-shaped charging gun — which requires just 1.5 square metres of space — features new liquid-cooled cables to manage heat and current loads.
Despite being capable of delivering up to 1.5MW to a single vehicle, it’s claimed BYD’s intelligent power distribution system, combined with integrated energy storage, will allow up to 20 cars to be charged simultaneously — reportedly double the capacity of the previous system.
The speed at which BYD is progressing is notable, given the company only launched its first 1MW charger as recently as March 2025.
While promising some of the fastest charging speeds in the world, one significant limitation of the v2.0 flash charger is that it has been designed for vehicles operating on 500–1000-volt electrical architectures, rather than the 400-volt systems used by many lower-spec and more affordable EVs.
To cover more of the market, rumours suggest BYD plans to upgrade its existing non-megawatt chargers to deliver peaks of around 500kW, with new hardware that will still support 400-volt vehicles.
A further entry-level charging station, capable of delivering between 200kW and 600kW, is also reportedly in development.
In China, BYD says it expects to have built more than 15,000 megawatt flash chargers before the end of this year.
Back in Australia, very few public chargers are capable of exceeding 350kW. Despite this, BYD’s luxury brand Denza has already indicated it plans to install 1MW chargers at its dealer network to unlock the fastest charging speeds for models such as the incoming Z9 GT.
“We’re certainly looking at it,” said od 1MW-plus charging. “And we’re looking at not just models, but what infrastructure might look like.”
“How could we roll it out? We don’t have any of the answers.
“I think it might be a few months until we’re in a position to say ‘we think it looks like this’, but we’re looking at what the business model looks like.”
