- BYD confirms Denza will bring its Flash charging to Europe
- 1,500 kW outlets can deliver a 10-70% charge in just five minutes
- China’s Z9 GT can travel 644 miles on a single charge
Denza, which is billed as the “technology-driven premium automotive brand” within the BYD Group, has confirmed that its headline-grabbing Z9 GT performance electric vehicle will be heading to Europe, alongside its equally impressive 1,500 kW charging capabilities.
Already in use in China, BYD’s Flash charging stations offer more than three times the power of competing “ultra-fast charging” outlets, enabling a 10-70% charge in just five minutes and a 10-97% recharge in just nine minutes, even in temperatures of -30°C, it claims.
The Denza Z9 GT rides on a bespoke e3 platform, with the Grand Tourer Shooting Brake featuring a 122 kWh Blade battery and up to 800 km (nearly 500 miles) on a single charge in the rear-wheel drive edition.
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There’s also a more performance-oriented version that uses three electric motors to deliver more than 960 hp and a 0-100 km/h sprint time of less than three seconds. Both models are expected to be sold in April this year.
According to Car News China, the Z9 GT became the fastest new energy luxury GT to deliver 10,000 vehicles in China when it went on sale early last year, with more than 5,000 orders within 36 hours of its launch.
There’s no word yet on European pricing, but the cheapest cars start at just 443,900 yuan ($45,900 / around £35,000 / AU$65,000) and top out at 384,800 yuan ($52,600 / around £40,000 / AU$75,000) in China.
Although these figures are likely to increase when import costs and taxes are taken into account, the Denza brand could still significantly undercut its premium competitors from established players, such as Porsche, Audi and BMW.
Analysis: megawatt charging is coming
While Denza’s Z9 GT offers some impressive stats, perhaps the most relevant is its headline charging figures, with the company promoting the principle “ready in 5, full in 9, cold add 3” – as in, if it’s cold outside, add three minutes to those figures.
That’s all well and good, but it only works with the correct charging sockets. In China, BYD is currently building 4,000 1.5 MW charging stations across the country, and plans to deploy 20,000 by the end of this year.
Although not as ambitious, a BYD spokesperson for the European side of the business told me the company is targeting 2,000 1.5mW flash charging stations across Europe before the end of 2026.
This will initially focus on the big five European countries, with the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain expected to receive the majority of these chargers.
But with most of Europe’s fastest charging sockets currently reaching a maximum output of 350 kW (there are a few 500 kW sockets), BYD’s plans look set to push the fast charging game into the next generation.
As with Tesla and its Supercharger network in the early days of electric vehicles, only BYD and Denza owners will be able to use these supposed five-minute charging times, leaving competing premium automakers and the electric vehicle infrastructure as a whole scrambling to catch up.
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