Geely Joins China's Ultrafast EV Charging Race With 4.5-Minute Battery Boost

Chinese automakers are pushing electric-vehicle charging times ever closer to the few minutes it takes to refuel a petrol car, with Geely Auto the latest to unveil a high-speed system.

At a launch event on Wednesday, Geely Auto said its new technology can charge an EV battery from 10% to 70% in 4.5 minutes, and from 10% to 97% in 8 minutes and 40 seconds. Analysts described the development as a significant step for the company.

Geely joins a field already occupied by BYD, which last year overtook Tesla as the world's largest EV maker, and CATL, the biggest EV battery manufacturer. Both rolled out roughly five-minute charging technologies this year. BYD's next-generation "blade" battery, launched in March, can charge from 10% to 70% in five minutes and from 10% to 97% in nine minutes. CATL followed in April with a system that charges from 10% to 80% in 3 minutes and 44 seconds, and from 10% to 98% in 6 minutes and 27 seconds.

By contrast, some of the fastest-charging EVs sold in the United States currently need about 20 minutes, according to analysts. Fast-charging sessions there typically run 20 to 40 minutes for a 10% to 80% charge, though newer models from brands such as Hyundai, Kia and Porsche can cut that to roughly 18 to 20 minutes under optimal conditions.

"China is way, way, way ahead in terms of multiple players engaged in the charging competition," said Lei Xing, an independent analyst of China's auto industry based in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The push is aimed at removing what analysts call the ultimate barrier to EV adoption: range anxiety. Stephen Chan, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings, said Chinese automakers are trying to narrow the gap between EV charging and the roughly five-minute refuelling experience of gasoline vehicles.

Obstacles remain, however. Chris Liu, a Shanghai-based senior analyst at Omdia, said the real challenge is whether a battery can accept such high current quickly and repeatedly without overheating, degrading excessively or hitting internal bottlenecks.

Charging infrastructure is another constraint. Most of China's public charging stations still operate below 1 megawatt, while the ultrafast systems from Geely, BYD and CATL need higher charging power to reach their full potential, Chan said. Network expansion and grid upgrades will therefore remain hurdles for large-scale adoption.

Some companies are already moving. BYD is targeting 20,000 superfast charging stations by the end of this year, adding 30,000 more in 2027 and 40,000 in 2028 for a total of 90,000, according to a Deutsche Bank analysis.

The competitive pressure at home is intense. China has more than 100 domestic passenger car brands, and domestic sales have fallen for months as automakers export more vehicles overseas. Ultrafast charging is one way companies are trying to stand apart and lift sales.

In the U.S., Neal Ganguli, a partner and managing director in the automotive and industrial practice at consultancy AlixPartners, said the charging network is growing quickly but remains well behind China's ultrafast speeds by orders of magnitude. He added that the U.S. may not try to match China's "megawatt race" in the near future, instead pursuing a more moderate path to upgrades.