BYD Wants To Bring 5-Minute EV 'Flash' Charging To Canada

BYD, China's biggest automaker, wants to bring its ridiculously fast "Flash Charging" network to Canada after the country's move to start letting in 49,000 Chinese EVs in ever year on a much lower tariff. 

The headline Flash Charging claims are charge speeds of up to 1,500 kW and 10 to 70% charge in just five minutes. In distance terms, a five-minute plug-in will regain 250 miles (400 km) of range or 1.2 miles recouped every second. For comparison, the fastest public chargers in North America today typically cap out at 350 kW, while the current Tesla Model 3 plugged into a Supercharger is supposed to be able to add 170 miles of range in 15 minutes.

"Paired with a high-capacity energy storage system, this infrastructure bypasses grid capacity limits without overstressing the local power network," says BYD. Flash Charging uses a pair of what are essentially massive power banks as an intermediary between the grid and your car.

BYD

It all stems from a job posting spotted by Electrek revealing that BYD North America is hiring a Flash Charging Business Development Manager. This person will be "responsible for supporting the development, optimize action [sic], and performance of BYD Canada's flash charging network development, this role plays a critical part in executing BYD's flash charging network expansion strategy and business growth across Canada." The gig is on-site, located in Toronto, and here's the LinkedIn posting if you're a qualified Canadian looking for work.

As of early March, BYD has installed 4,239 of these in China and aims to have 20,000 deployed total by the end of 2026 before a global rollout. Ergo, U.K. and European media recently got an up-close look at the chargers, and when asked about cold-weather performance—a key question if it's really coming to Canada—the company pointed to an internal test in which Flash Charging was able to get a Denza Z9 GT with the second-gen Blade battery frozen in -22 degrees Fahrenheit (that's -30 Celsius if you're actually Canadian) from 20 to 97% charge in 12 minutes. At room temp, remember, this is said to take nine minutes. 

In case you missed it, earlier this year Canada announced that it would charge a tariff of just 6.1% on 49,000 EVs from China annually, and the first signs of Chinese EVs actually coming to Canada have quietly but quickly popped up. Manufacturer-plated cars have been spotted around the Toronto area, Geely and now BYD have been posting Canadian jobs, and Chery has officially announced its intention to sell cars in the Great White North as soon as late 2026.

If BYD really does start installing Flash Chargers in Canada, northern EV owners may soon be able to get almost an entire battery's worth of charge in less time than a typical Tim Horton's stop. Much less time if they happen to mess up your order. Which they probably will.

BYD