BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada • Hacker News Board

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#41

Post by coldpie » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:12 PM UTC

gcanyon wrote: post #5

As an American, I'm going to be really sad when we miss this transition. Maybe there's still time?

> Maybe there's still time?

I don't know that there is. It takes ages to develop an EV-focused platform, and the lines to manufacture it. Tesla is the only American manufacturer that has already done that work, and they're circling the drain. Aside from them, there's exactly one decent US-owned EV on the market, the Chevrolet Bolt. All of the top-of-the-line EVs are Korean or Chinese, and the 2nd tiers are all European. America's EVs aren't even on the horizon, they'll be playing catchup for decades.

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#42

Post by z2 » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:12 PM UTC

close04 wrote: post #6

This will be a logistical challenge for the grid but absolutely fantastic for BYD owners in particular. > it is now deploying 2.4 times more charging power per month than Tesla adds to its Supercharger network And this is fantastic for EV owners in general, assuming the charging network is open to all. > In short, BYD isn’t just shipping cars to Canada – it’s planning to build and operate its own charging infrastruct…

> And this is fantastic for EV owners in general, assuming the charging network is open to all.

Given that the job descriptions seem to include working with local subsidy programs, I sure hope the Canadian government is going to require an open standard or adding more DC chargers under existing standards.

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#43

Post by embedding-shape » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:14 PM UTC

Grombobulous wrote: post #10

I read an article recently that said something along the lines of “China is pausing on the idea of a BYD Mexico factory over fears of US stealing their technology.” Isn’t it ironic? Don’t ya think? Update: link to the article I was reading: https://electrek.co/2025/03/19/chinese-authorities-delay-app...

> Isn’t it ironic? Don’t ya think?

Why is that ironic? The US talks about stealing/preventing others from stealing stuff from them too, not sure why this would be surprising.

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#44

Post by alkonaut » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:15 PM UTC

stymaar wrote: post #21

fundatus wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This will be a logistical challenge for the grid but absolutely fantastic for BYD owners in particular. Interestingly BYD actually puts batteries next to these chargers that they charge "off peak" to minimise the strain on the grid. So often times cars will actually charge from that battery instead of directly from the grid.

> batteries next to these chargers that they charge "off peak" I don't think that's what they'll do. Charging off peak means being able to store the entirety of the energy demand for the power station in a battery, which is going to be very expensive (assuming 20 cars charge during peak hours every day, that'd mean having to swallow the cost of 20 cars worth of battery per charging station. Good luck getting a good R…

> if in average you have 2 cars charging for 5 minutes every hour, you can draw 166kW continuously instead of having bursts of 1MW consumption)

You definitely need to have that to not load the grid with 1MW, but the question still remains what the capacity of the battery is. A charger that promises a 5 minute 1MW charge BUT which can only do it once per hour and then falls back to 200kW doesn't seem as special as a charger that actually charges a car every five minutes.

It's convenient to get going in 5 minutes. But the time you REALLY want the charger to be quick is when you are third in line to charge at that charger.

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#45

Post by mekdoonggi » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC

varispeed wrote: post #30

So if China attacks Taiwan and NATO intervenes, how Canada will ensure BYD will not remotely brick the charging infrastructure or will not make cars suddenly speed up and crash into oncoming traffic?

From Canada's perspective, China is willing to cooperate even through conflict, and the US is literally threatening to invade.

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#46

Post by gedy » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #40

ck2 wrote: post #39

There is a huge startup opportunity, steal this idea: US Governement doesn't allow BYD imports BUT you can lease a car from Canada for a year in US So lease BYD a year at a time with Canadian plates, etc. to US drivers

Some US politicians were proposing a total ban on allowing cars of Chinese origin into the US, which is rather extreme. They don't want to risk US nationals seeing them and wanting them.

You see them occasionally in southern California with Mexican plates

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#47

Post by bluGill » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC

gcanyon wrote: post #5

As an American, I'm going to be really sad when we miss this transition. Maybe there's still time?

While America is slow, the transition is happening. There are a fair number of electric cars on the road. Some like the cybertruck are obvious, but there are a lot of cars that come in ICE or EV variants that you can't tell and people are talking. Don't lose hope.

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#48

Post by ck2 » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:17 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #40

ck2 wrote: post #39

There is a huge startup opportunity, steal this idea: US Governement doesn't allow BYD imports BUT you can lease a car from Canada for a year in US So lease BYD a year at a time with Canadian plates, etc. to US drivers

Some US politicians were proposing a total ban on allowing cars of Chinese origin into the US, which is rather extreme. They don't want to risk US nationals seeing them and wanting them.

Canadian snowbirds drive their cars and RVs into the US all the time all the way down to the southern states

There's just a limit to how long the car can be in the US

So lease for a year at a time from Canada

Musk himself was an illegal Canadian import so hey only fair lol

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#49

Post by kblazewicz2 » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:18 PM UTC

t1234s wrote: post #38

Any long terms Europe BYD owners? How is the build quality of their export vehicles?

I own a Sealion 7 since August. Build quality is much better than European brands like BMW or Audi, it really feels premium. I'm loving this car.

Re: BYD is bringing its 5-min 'Flash' electric car charging to Canada

#50

Post by rogerrogerr » Thu, Jun 11, 2026, 1:19 PM UTC

fundatus wrote: post #8

close04 wrote: post #6

This will be a logistical challenge for the grid but absolutely fantastic for BYD owners in particular. > it is now deploying 2.4 times more charging power per month than Tesla adds to its Supercharger network And this is fantastic for EV owners in general, assuming the charging network is open to all. > In short, BYD isn’t just shipping cars to Canada – it’s planning to build and operate its own charging infrastruct…

> This will be a logistical challenge for the grid but absolutely fantastic for BYD owners in particular. Interestingly BYD actually puts batteries next to these chargers that they charge "off peak" to minimise the strain on the grid. So often times cars will actually charge from that battery instead of directly from the grid.

Tesla often does this too.