Geely has unveiled an electric car battery it says can charge from 10% to 70% in four-and-a-half minutes, making it the fastest system of its kind in the industry.
The Chinese owner of Volvo tested the battery in a Zeekr 001 model. It can charge from 10% to 97% in eight minutes and 40 seconds when connected to a charger capable of delivering up to 2.2 megawatts of power.
Geely’s announcement intensifies the race among Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers to reduce charging times. The company’s claimed 10% to 70% charging time is 20 seconds faster than a system developed by BYD, China’s biggest electric carmaker.
BYD unveiled a system earlier this year that can charge a battery from 10% to 97% in nine minutes. It has also announced plans to build 90,000 charging stations by 2028.
Geely said its advantage came from using an 800-volt electrical system, allowing more electricity to be delivered to the battery at once. Its stated peak output of 2.2 megawatts is more than four times the 500-kilowatt rating of Tesla’s latest Supercharger technology.
Zhang Dewang, a Geely executive, said charging speeds were “approaching the physical limit”. He added: “The marginal gains from pursuing even faster speeds in the future will become increasingly small.”
Geely battery technology to launch in China
The Galaxy E5 electric SUV will be the first Geely model to use the new battery when it goes on sale in China later this year. The model is not currently sold in Britain, although the E5 is badged as the EX5 for the UK market.
Geely currently sells the EX5 electric SUV and the Starray EM-i hybrid in the UK. The group also owns Lotus and has stakes in Polestar.
Geely sold 1.42 million vehicles in the first half of this year and has increased its target for exports to 920,000 vehicles in 2026.
The charging contest reflects a broader shift in China’s car industry, where manufacturers are competing on battery range, charging speed and driver-assistance technology as well as price.
