Denza claims phenomenal Z9GT charge time
European debut next month for swish EV wagon; for now, consider 1,500kW and five minute charges...
Plenty of us have endured our fair share of painful public charging experiences. Slower than advertised for no apparent reason, even more expensive than feared, requiring a stupid app in a data black hole… it’s all too familiar. While combustion cars fill up in five minutes at the pumps next door and carry on their journey. Probably spending the same sort of money as well. Well now Denza - BYD’s luxury offshoot - reckons it has a solution with its upcoming Z9GT. It’ll be officially launched in Europe next month, but for now some staggering charging times are being claimed.
Flash Charging is the phrase, thanks to BYD’s second generation Blade Battery. When hooked up to a BYD charging station, Denza reckons a Z9GT can replenish at up to 1,500kW. In a world where 300kW is a pretty good score, that’s astonishing. It means unheard of charge times, the sort of thing that’s comparable to combustion: 10 to 70 per cent in five minutes, 10 to 97 per cent in nine minutes, and 20 to 97 per cent in 12 minutes if it’s minus 30 outside. Incredible. This is a big battery we’re talking about here, too, at 122kWh, meaning up to 500 miles of range. So 10 per cent (call it 50, for ease) to 70 per cent (350) in five minutes sounds pretty game changing, Yes, it’s a manufacturer claim for now and needs verification, plus it needs this very special charger and connector, but as charging speeds have only been climbing incrementally, this looks like a huge leap forward for Denza. Make your own guess now at what the cost per kilowatt hour might be…
The Blade Battery itself is made from lithium iron phosphate; Denza says that gains ‘in ion transport have not only increased energy density but also the ability to recharge faster at a wider range of temperatures, and with reduced levels of degradation.’ That last point is important given that it’s rapid charging that does the most harm to battery health. A lifetime of being buzzed at 150kW isn’t typically regarded as brilliant for an EV, let alone 10 times that. Still, BYD now sells more EVs than Tesla, so if any company is likely to have figured that conundrum out, they would have to be one of the contenders.
As for the car itself, expect to hear a lot more about the Z9GT over the coming weeks and months. Not only is it quite a handsome shooting brake, it sits on a Denza-specific e3 platform (i.e. not just rejigged BYD SUV architecture) and boasts up to 960hp in the tri-motor variant. There’s also an audio setup developed with Devialet (the same company that’s recently worked with Alpine). BYD’s Exec Vice Pres, Stella Li, said: “The introduction of the Denza Z9GT in Europe marks a very important milestone for our brand. The Z9GT represents the true spirit of Denza — where advanced technology, beautiful design and emotional driving come together… It's the perfect choice to introduce the principle of 'Ready in 5, Full in 9, Cold Add 3' to the world, as we start our global rollout of Flash Charging in Europe. The ability to add hundreds of kilometres of range in just minutes, even in extremely low temperatures, means the Z9GT perfectly reflects our vision for Denza: technology that inspires, performance that excites and elegance that defines the future of premium mobility." Consider us more than a little intrigued. Full details to follow on April 8th.
Impressive stats to be fair. I'm sure they will flood the market like the other BYD products, Jaecoo, Omodo, Sing Along or whatever other Chinese brands are dominating the EV market these days.
So it relies on proprietary charging technology to achieve said refill times.
Progress is indeed being made but we are still at least a decade from the claimed convenience becoming a universal reality, notwithstanding that this is Chinese stuff and they have the kill switch.
ETA This reminds me of Motorola phones and their claimed 50 watt wireless charging capacity which can only be achieved with their own-brand wireless charging stand which was on sale for, like, 5 minutes and are practically impossible to find second-hand...
EV s with the convenience of charging at home and now filling up in 5mins at a public charger.
500 miles (WLTP) EV s now becoming common place with 400+ of real world range.
The questions from some were answered.
What next?
I am absolutely not an EV sceptic but I can see how so many people are when the exact same Chinese companies that less than a decade ago were blatantly copying Western designs and producing piss-poor quality rip-off products (and being rightly slated in here for it) are now the EV cult's besties because they produce the right propaganda.
I'm trying to say away from the EV threads(not very well it seems though!
), because I'm not very well liked in them sadly. We have dithered on forcing the EV adoption and then are now backpedalling but if the Chinese keep going like this, there's (it would seem) will be the lion's share.
I definitely see a better looking Panamera - would love to see the inside.
They also seem (increasingly) able to deliver better/similar to the West tech.
Again, for clarity - for good or bad.
I'm trying to say away from the EV threads(not very well it seems though!
), because I'm not very well liked in them sadly. I'm trying to say away from the EV threads(not very well it seems though!
), because I'm not very well liked in them sadly. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff