It was only about a month ago that a Chinese electric vehicle maker came out with big news: the ability to fully charge a battery in five minutes. Now, a Chinese rival has an even better performance.
CATL is the worldʻs biggest supplier of batteries for electric vehicles. BYD is the worldʻs biggest producer of electric vehicles.
Theyʻre both showing off their latest technology this week at the Shanghai Motor Show.
The battery maker has edged ahead of the vehicle maker in the distance it can go on a five-minute charge — about 236 miles versus about 214.
Both companies are doing better than Tesla, whose recent tests of a 15-minute charge goes for about 200 miles. Mercedes-Benz has a range of about 150 miles on a 10-minute charge.
The Financial Times quotes an analyst at Bernstein Research as saying battery charging speeds in the industry have more than doubled in the past year, and are now ten times faster than they were just three or four years ago.
CATL already supplies both General Motors and Tesla's Shanghai factory and the company is also rolling out a sodium-ion battery, cheaper than lithium-ion, and with fewer safety issues.
The company says sodium-ion batteries are also more reliable in extremely cold weather — an important point for Chinese trucks operating in the countryʻs frigid northern provinces.
