The Chinese automaker said on Wednesday that its new system can charge an electric vehicle from 10 per cent to 70 per cent in about four and a half minutes, placing the company in direct competition with rival BYD as manufacturers race to address range anxiety and make electric vehicles more convenient for consumers.
Geely also unveiled a next-generation EV battery and an upgraded version of its Galaxy E5 pure-electric sport utility vehicle as the company seeks to strengthen its position in China’s increasingly competitive electric vehicle market.
The latest technology comes at a challenging time for the industry. Electric vehicle sales in China have declined for 11 consecutive months through August, intensifying competition among manufacturers and pushing automakers to differentiate their products through advances in charging, driving range and intelligent vehicle systems.
Geely said its new charging technology is supported by infrastructure capable of delivering 2.2 megawatts of power and a high-rate battery system.
Under normal ambient temperatures, the company said the system can charge an EV from 10 per cent to 70 per cent in 4.5 minutes, while a charge from 10 per cent to 97 per cent takes approximately eight minutes and 40 seconds.
The company described the technology as among the fastest charging systems currently available in the industry.
“Current charging speeds are already approaching the physical limit, and the marginal gains from pursuing even faster speeds in the future will become increasingly small,” Geely executive Zhang Dewang told Reuters at the launch event.
Technology becomes new battleground
China’s electric vehicle market has increasingly become a contest over technological capabilities, with manufacturers competing to offer consumers improvements in intelligent driving, battery range and charging speeds.
The latest charging race is particularly significant because long charging times have traditionally been one of the concerns associated with EV ownership.
Geely said it is using artificial intelligence to help maintain stability and safety as its vehicles handle extremely high charging power.
The company’s system combines cloud-based digital-twin simulations with deep-learning models installed directly in its vehicles. According to Geely, the technology is designed to monitor battery health, control temperature and identify potential safety risks.
The company said the combination of high-power infrastructure, advanced batteries and AI-based monitoring is intended to make ultra-fast charging more practical while maintaining safety.
Direct challenge to BYD
Geely’s announcement comes after BYD made a major push into ultra-fast charging earlier this year.
BYD unveiled a new-generation flash-charging system that it said could charge an EV battery from 10 per cent to 97 per cent in nine minutes.
The company has also outlined plans for a large expansion of its charging network. Deutsche Bank, citing a meeting with BYD management, said the automaker plans to build 90,000 charging stations by 2028.
The developments have raised the stakes in the competition between China’s major EV manufacturers, as companies seek to combine increasingly powerful batteries with charging networks capable of delivering electricity at speeds approaching the convenience of conventional refuelling.
Geely’s latest move therefore represents not only a product launch but also an attempt to strengthen its competitive position at a time when Chinese automakers are facing intense pressure to maintain sales growth.
EV charging networks set to expand
Zhang said the future charging ecosystem could increasingly resemble traditional petrol stations, where consumers have access to infrastructure operated by different companies.
He predicted that cooperation among multiple players would help accelerate the expansion of high-speed charging infrastructure around the world.
As automakers continue to invest in increasingly powerful batteries and charging systems, the competition is shifting beyond vehicle design and driving range to the speed at which drivers can replenish their batteries.
For Geely, the new technology is part of a broader effort to revive sales in its home market and compete with rivals such as BYD in a sector where technological innovation is becoming a central factor in attracting buyers.