BYD announced the rollout of its first Flash Chargers in Europe, capable of charging EVs in just 5 minutes. The company introduced its first chargers in the UK and Germany and promised to build 3,000 chargers across Europe and 300 across the UK by the end of 2027.

The company’s Flash Chargers aren’t exactly new, but they are new to European drivers. Just one of BYD’s Flash Charging stations can deliver up to 1,500 kW of charging power, which is three times more than Tesla’s V4 Superchargers.

Additionally, BYD plans to undercut the competition from Tesla and Ionity and offer cheaper fares. It plans to do that by leveraging batteries. These batteries will charge overnight during off-peak hours and provide cheaper electricity to consumers. Additionally, BYD believes it can charge more EVs throughout the day compared to the competition, which will push prices down even further.

Naturally, if you want to utilize BYD’s fast chargers to the fullest, you have to own one of BYD’s EVs equipped with the latest Blade Battery 2.0. This battery can already be found in some BYD EVs, but only one model sold in Europe is compatible with the Flash Chargers, and that’s the Denza Z9 GT. At least for now.

Just a 5-minute charge will refill the battery from 10% to 70%, while a “full” charge from 10% to 97% takes only 9 minutes. Additionally, the technology promises minimal performance loss in low-temperature environments.

Via

Low-emission vehicles are becoming increasingly popular in Australia’s second-hand car market as motorists strive to conserve fuel.

But hybrid vehicles, rather than electric models, are proving to be in highest demand and the most resistant to price reductions.

The Australian Automotive Dealer Association and AutoGrab revealed the trends on Tuesday in used car sales figures from May, which also showed the automotive market had bounced back from a sales dip in April.

The news comes one week after new hybrid and electric vehicles sales broke records to represent almost half of all new cars sold in Australia during the month.

The latest sales report showed Australian drivers bought 221,323 second-hand vehicles during May – a rise of more than 17,700 cars compared to April.

Standard hybrid vehicles made up one in 10 used cars up to five years of age, while electric and plug-in hybrid models represented six per cent of sales.

The trend towards low-emission cars reflected consumer efforts to avoid petrol and diesel price rises caused by conflict in the Middle East, association chief executive James Voortman said.

“It’s no surprise to see hybrids performing so strongly,” he said.

“With household budgets still under pressure, many consumers are looking for ways to reduce fuel costs and hybrids offer a practical and proven solution.”

Hybrid cars were also the most likely to withstand discounting to secure a sale, the report found, and retained 93.4 per cent of their value.

By contrast, more than half of second-hand petrol and diesel vehicles were discounted before finding a buyer in May, which Mr Voortman said showed consumers were in the driver’s seat.

“The increase in discounting reflects a strong level of competition in the used vehicle market at the moment,” he said.

“Buyers are in a good position to compare options and negotiate on price.”

The report came on the same day BYD Australia revealed it had signed a three-year deal with Pickles to auction its second-hand fleet vehicles.

The agreement was another sign that Australia’s used electric vehicle market had evolved, Pickles motor vehicles general manager Chris Shaw said, and the move would make them accessible to a wider motoring audience

“We’re seeing increased confidence in used electric vehicles from both private buyers and the trade as the market develops, pricing becomes more accessible, and understanding of EV ownership continues to improve,” he said.

AAP

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Welcome to The Downshift, or TDS for short, The Drive’s morning news roundup bringing you the biggest automotive headlines from around the world.

The Downshift quickly recaps the news, with links to full stories for those seeking more info. Hope you had a great weekend—here’s your bulletin for Monday, June 1, 2026.

BYD has announced it will assume all financial responsibility for any crash that happens during proper use of its City Navigation autonomous driving system within one year of a vehicle’s delivery, or update to its latest “God’s Eye” software. The year-long limitation means this doesn’t solve one of the burning issues around autonomous driving, though it is a noteworthy development from China’s biggest automaker. [CleanTechnica]

There is concern that new legislation developing in the House prohibiting automakers from selling cars in the U.S. if they have “any direct or indirect equity interest by a foreign-adversary government” could ban Mercedes-Benz from the market. Chinese firms BAIC and Geely own a combined 19.67% of the company, and, as understood, the bill sets the threshold for “control” by a “foreign adversary” at 15% ownership. [CNBC]

7⃣ The next-generation BMW X7 will have a more wagon-like profile, differentiating it from BMW’s typical SUVs as well as its competitors, according to retailers briefed on the new model. [Automotive News]

There could be as few as 800 examples of the manual BMW M3 CS Handschalter earmarked for the U.S. market, with BMW M Certified dealers receiving two cars and non-M dealers only one, according to a BMWBlog report. Additionally, markups supposedly range from a few grand to $25,000. [BMWBlog]

There’s a class-action lawsuit brewing for owners of 2023-2025 Kia Tellurides in New York and Pennsylvania alleging that Kia was aware that the SUV’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster could fail. [Car Complaints]

Genesis’ Le Mans Hypercars will wear new orange liveries for their 24 Hours of Le Mans debut later this month. [Racer]

Weekend Race Results:

• WRC Rally Japan: Elfyn Evans won for Toyota
• NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Nashville: Layne Riggs won for Front Row Motorsports
• NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Nashville: Justin Allgaier won for JR Motorsports
• MotoGP Italian Grand Prix: Marco Bezzecchi won for Aprilia
• IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix: Alex Palou won for Chip Ganassi Racing
• IMSA Detroit Grand Prix: Jack Aitken and Earl Bamber won for Cadillac
• NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville: Denny Hamlin won for Joe Gibbs Racing

Got a tip or feedback for TDS? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com

In contrast to the upper two dual-motor models, Comfort comes with a single, rear-mounted motor producing 308bhp. It derives its power from an 82.5kWh battery pack, and BYD quotes a 0-62mph time of 6.7 seconds. That ‘Blade’ battery is capable of up to 150kW charging speeds, which should get the battery from 10-80 per cent in around 32 minutes. Range is quoted at 300 miles.

But hold on a second. Aren’t high-end Chinese cars meant to be breaking the internet with their incredible charge speeds, performance and technology? A Volkswagen ID.5 isn’t just £10k cheaper, but it’ll also do an extra 45 miles on a charge and match the BYD for performance and top-up speeds. The flagship Ultimate model ups the range and charging to 329 miles and 230kW, but at £59,000 it’s hot on the heels of BMW’s new iX3 with its 500 miles and 400kW peak.

You sit high in the BYD’s driver’s seat, and the relatively low dashboard only accentuates this. The sloping roofline and tiny rear window don’t give it a particularly airy feeling – but the panoramic roof helps. 

Connectivity has its highs and lows. The screen is relatively fast to react and has no problem maintaining a solid wireless connection for Apple CarPlay. But simple tasks are buried in multiple menus. You can also rotate the screen in a typical BYD way, but I find this utterly pointless. 

We’ll go into more detail about how the Sealion drives and the sort of efficiency we’re getting over the course of the next few months, but at the moment it’s doing around 2.9 miles per kWh. This is less than what BYD quotes and is the result of largely urban driving so far, but that’s not such a bad number considering the recent cold weather.

The BYD will have to prove it’s worth the ambitious price tag by driving, cosseting and reassuring us to the levels we expect of its legacy-branded rivals that offer very similar, if not even better value. Only time will tell.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express? We’ll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too.

The Beijing Auto Show hosted the debut of a new vehicle that might make some luxury car owners look twice at their bank accounts. BYD revealed its latest flagship sedan: the Seal 08. This car does look sleek, but more importantly, it carries technology that promises to solve the biggest headaches people have with EVs – how far you can drive and how long you have to sit at a charging station.

The secret of this sedan is the second-generation LFP Blade Battery. BYD says the new battery allows the car to travel over 620 miles on a single charge based on Chinese testing standards. While real-world driving in the United States or Europe will result in a lower number, it still beats most electric cars currently on the road.

If the range does not impress you, the charging speed might. The Seal 08 uses an 800V system that supports “megawatt-level” flash charging – you can add 249 miles of range in just five minutes. If your battery is sitting at 10%, you can get it up to 70% in the same five-minute window. Even if you live in a place where it gets freezing cold, the car performs well. At -22°F, it can charge from 20% to 97% in 12 minutes. Most people take longer than that to defrost their windshields.

The Seal 08 is a battery on wheels and it has plenty of muscle too. The top-end version comes with all-wheel drive and two motors. Together, they produce 510 kW – that’s 684 horsepower. The front motor provides 190 kW, while the rear motor does the heavy lifting with 320 kW. If you do not need that much power, BYD offers rear-wheel-drive versions with either 255 kW or 320 kW. No matter which one you pick, each version can reach a top speed of 149 mph.

This is a big vehicle – it measures 202.8 inches in length. To help with parking such a long car, BYD included rear-wheel steering. This feature lets the back wheels turn slightly, making the car much easier to turn in tight spots. The wheelbase is 119.3 inches – this usually means there is a lot of legroom for people sitting in the back. The car apparently weighs 4,497 lb, which is surprising for an EV this big and packed with heavy batteries.

BYD also put a lot of work into how the car rides and drives. It gets the DiSus-A system, which is an intelligent body control setup using air suspension. This helps the car stay level and comfortable even on bumpy roads. For safety and self-driving features, the Seal 08 has a LiDAR sensor sitting on the roof. This sensor acts like a set of eyes for the “God’s Eye” driving system, helping the car see obstacles and navigate traffic more safely than a human might on a tired Monday morning.

BYD has not given a final price for the Seal 08, but we believe it will sell for between RMB 300,000 and 350,000. That is roughly £30,600 to {{$49,000}. The Seal 08 is part of a new “Ocean 8” series from BYD. It was revealed alongside a sister vehicle, the Sealion 08 SUV. BYD plans to launch the sedan in China during the second quarter of 2026. While the company has not officially said it will sell the car in the United States or Europe yet, they are moving quickly into international markets.

Via

BYD, the world’s fastest-growing car company, is continuing to bring new models to market in multiple new segments, with the latest being an affordable model for the ridesharing industry under its recently introduced Linghui brand.

The new e7 sedan comes with multiple new editions, including the company’s 5-minute Flash Charging tech, a new Blade Battery, and all for under $A22,600.

The e7 lineup will actually start at under $A20,000 but has its Flash Charging-enabled models starting for a bit more, saving ridesharing drivers a significant amount of time when stopping to charge.

As mentioned, it would be one of the most affordable models from the company with capabilities of charging from 10-70% in just 5 minutes using the company’s latest Flash Charging technology, unveiled last month.

The new charging tech is made possible by Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery packs, which retain the safety credentials of BYD’s Blade Battery tech while now supporting charging speeds of up to 1,500 kW at the company’s Flash Charging sites.

Speaking of the deployment, BYD is currently deploying these sites at a rapid pace. Latest data shared by the company shows over 5,000 active charging stations in hundreds of cities across China, with a target to reach 20,000 commissioned charging bays by the end of the year.

According to reports from local media, the new e7 has an introductory incentive of 1-year free Flash Charging, helping fleet and ridesharing companies try out the tech in the first 12 months.

Getting back to the specs of the model, it comes in at a length of 4,780 mm, which is slightly smaller than the Seal sedan sold in Australia. 

The new car features the same large 15.6-inch infotainment screen behind the steering wheel as many BYD owners have today. 

A 50 W wireless phone charger is also seen in the centre console, and, like many of BYD’s latest cars, the inside now features the gear shifter relocated to the steering wheel.

Powering the new sedan are two rear-mounted motor options delivering 100 kW and 130 kW, respectively.

The single-motor powertrain is powered by BYD’s second-generation blade batteries, which come in capacities of 51.3 kWh and larger 61.4 kWh packs that feed the motor.

Range-wise, the e7 EV will have an NEDC range of 450-550 km, likely over 380-480 km on the WLTP test cycle.

Having experienced the previous generation of the BYD e7 as a Didi on a recent trip to China, it really is a Toyota Corolla rival, but with a much more refined ride, space, and, of course, an EV drivetrain.

We look forward to seeing the Linghui e7 model in person in China in the coming months, as it’s one of the several vehicles from BYD that would change the rideshare industry in China and has implications across the globe to help reduce transport emissions while offering drivers the convenience of Flash Charging.

CHINA’S number one carmaker, BYD, has warned of an impending shakeout in the domestic electric vehicle sector after reporting a 19 per cent drop in annual net profit, despite continued sales growth.

 

In hard numbers, the giant Shenzhen-based carmaker posted a net profit of 33 billion yuan ($A6.87b) for the year ended December 31, as intensifying price competition (discounting) in China eroded margins.

 

Revenue, however, edged up 3.5 per cent to 804 billion yuan ($A166b).

 

Automotive media reported BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu saying the industry had reached a “brutal knockout stage”, with weaker players likely to be forced out as competition reaches “fever pitch”.

 

The warning reflects mounting pressure across China’s crowded EV market, where dozens of domestic brands are competing amid softening demand, excess supply and reduced government support.

 

BYD’s global sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids rose 7.7 per cent to 4.6 million units in 2025, though its China deliveries fell 7.8 per cent to 3.55 million.

 

Profitability was hit harder, with net margin declining to 4.1 per cent from 5.2 per cent the previous year.

 

Industry observers expect consolidation to accelerate, with some executives forecasting only a handful of viable players will remain over the next five years as weaker brands exit through factory closures or mergers possibly accompanied by job losses.

 

To counter slowing domestic growth, BYD is ramping up its international expansion, with overseas markets emerging as a key growth driver.

 

The company now operates in 119 countries and has invested heavily in export logistics, including a fleet of dedicated vehicle carriers. It is also building out production capacity globally, with new or planned facilities in Cambodia, Brazil and Hungary, alongside existing plants in Thailand, and Uzbekistan.

 

Overseas deliveries more than doubled in 2025 to 1.05 million units, helping lift international revenue by 40 per cent to 311 billion yuan ($A64b), representing 39 per cent of total revenue – up from 29 per cent the previous year.

 

Despite the challenging market conditions, BYD continues to invest heavily in new technology, with more than 120,000 engineers working across battery and vehicle development.

 

Recent breakthroughs include a second-generation Blade battery and ultra-fast charging capability, with BYD claiming the system can charge from 10 to 70 per cent in five minutes and up to 97 per cent in under 10 minutes under normal conditions.

 

The technology, already deployed in China, is expected to roll out to international markets later in 2026 as BYD looks to strengthen its competitive position globally.

Electric vehicle sales in March reached an all-time high in Australia, reaching a record number of 15,839 and a record share of 14.5 per cent – nearly double the share in the same month last year – as consumers searched out EVs amid the global fuel crisis.

The EV sales were led by China’s BYD, which once again overtook Tesla in total brand sales, but could have been higher were it not for many companies running out of stock. Tesla last week promised more ships, and more deliveries, after the wait time for its Model Y electric SUV blew out to several months.

BYD, which has a number of different models, sold a total of 4,206 EVs in March, beating Tesla with 3,485, although the Model Y regained its position as the top selling EV with 2,818 – which would put it at number 3 in the overall list behind the popular Ford and Toyota diesel utes.

Other EV makers also boosted sales, helped by multiple incentives that were already in place in March before Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, soaring prices and concerns about fuel supply as many servos ran out of fuel.

In March last year, EVs accounted for only 7.5% of total new car sales.

EV Sales Breakdown – March 2026

FCAI vFacts	12,194
EVC (Polestar + Tesla)	3,645
EV Sales Total (FCAI + EVC)	15,839
Total Vehicle Sales (FCAI + EVC)	108,703

For the first three months of the year, EV sales have doubled in Australia. Last year they totalled 17,901, and 2026 already shows 34,382 new electric cars made it onto the road.

In March, PHEV sales increased from the previous month, with 8,215 PHEVs sold, up from over 5,000 in February.

Looking into the EV models that made up the top 5 Tesla sales, the Tesla Model Y stayed at the top spot with 2,818 sales. The Sealion 7 SUV came in the second spot with 1,970 sales. 

The third spot went to Zeekr’s 7X, raking in 679 sales during the month. Tesla Model 3 and Geely EX5 made up the rest of the top 5.

Other notable mentions include the BYD Atto 1, Australia’s cheapest EV, which saw 488 sales in its best month to date. Omoda Jaecoo J5 EV also showed solid growth in the SUV segment, surpassing 500 sales in the month.

The best-selling EVs in March 2026 were:

• Tesla Model Y – 2,818 sales
• BYD Sealion 7 – 1,970 sales
• Zeekr 7X – 679 sales
• Tesla Model 3 – 667 sales
• Geely EX5 – 606 sales
• Kia EV5 – 587 sales
• BYD Atto 2 – 572 sales
• Omoda Jaecoo J5 – 569 sales
• BYD Atto 1 – 488 sales
• MG S5 – 475 sales
• BYD Atto 3 – 466 sales
• Kia EV3 – 461 sales

The Driven is waiting to hear back from various manufacturers regarding sales of some EV models, and this will be updated once they are received.  You can see our detailed data here: Australian electric vehicle sales by month in 2026 – by model and by brand

FCAI CEO Tony Weber said it is too early to determine whether this represents a structural shift in the market. “More consumers are considering EVs due to the disruption to fuel supply caused by conflict in the Middle East, along with the review into the fringe benefits tax concession for EVs,” he said in a statement.

“The automotive industry would welcome a sustained shift to EVs, given its substantial investment in bringing more than 100 EV models to the Australian market and the industry’s efforts to meet ambitious NVES targets.

 “A long-term shift to EVs will require Australian governments to sharpen their focus on public charging infrastructure, particularly in regional areas and locations where home charging is not practical.”

Will the recent growth in interest and EV lead times being pushed out for brands like Tesla and others impact upcoming monthly sales? Time will tell.  

See full details of EV sales for each month of the year in our database here.