BYD challenges Tesla: revolutionary 5-minute charging and a price below $30,000

The electric vehicle market has just witnessed a breakthrough that could reshape the global landscape.

The electric vehicle market has just witnessed a breakthrough that could reshape the global landscape. Chinese auto giant BYD has officially unveiled its new models — the Han L sedan and Tang L SUV — both equipped with a revolutionary fast-charging system called Super E-Platform, which enables a 400 km driving range to be restored in just five minutes. That’s four times faster than Tesla’s Supercharger stations, placing BYD at the forefront of charging technology.

This new platform is BYD’s answer to one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption: charging time and range anxiety. The company claims that charging is now comparable in speed to a regular gas refill, removing one of the last major doubts for drivers switching to electric.

The pricing strategy is just as disruptive. The Han L starts at ¥219,800 (around $30,100), and the Tang L from ¥239,800 (approximately $32,700) — making them $10,000 cheaper than the entry-level Tesla Model 3. It’s clear that BYD is aiming for the mass market by offering cutting-edge technology at a more accessible price.

While these models are currently available only in China, the company has ambitious global plans. A new factory in Hungary with a production capacity of 300,000 vehicles per year is set to open this year, and a research center in the UK is underway to develop next-generation models.

BYD is already the leader in China’s EV market, with over a third of all sales, and in 2024, it even overtook Tesla in global EV sales volumes, despite not being present in the U.S. market.

BYD’s combination of speed, innovation, affordability, and production scale positions it as a serious contender for global leadership in the EV industry — an industry where Tesla has long stood alone.