Move over BYD, ZEEKR unveiled a 1.2 Megawatt EV charger that could be the best in the world
Two weeks after BYD unveiled a new EV charger capable of 1,000 kW (1 MW) rates, fellow Chinese automaker ZEEKR has unveiled a new EV fast charger of its own, offering rates as high as 1.2 MW. ZEEKR’s vice president recently shared details of the latest charging technology before it makes its public debut in a few weeks.
On its Weibo page earlier this month, BYD teased the capabilities of a new EV architecture it calls the “Super E-Platform,” sharing that it will enable charging parity with gas station visits.
To achieve that, BYD promised 1,000 kW charge speeds—double the current industry leaders, including Tesla. In reality, it’s tripling the standard as most fast chargers on the market can only reach about 350 kW, and many of them (in the US, at least) are usually more in the 200s.
While some ultra-luxe EV models are powered by higher-voltage platforms, 800V has been the ceiling for a while, and to be honest, most models today cannot even hit 350 kW when charging. BYD, however, hopes to support its new 1,000V EV platform with 1 Megawatt EV chargers, hitting the market as early as this week.
BYD’s 1MW EV charger was easily the most powerful on the market but held that reign for a mere two weeks before ZEEKR said, “Hold my Baijiu.” During a recent EV conference in China, a ZEEKR executive unveiled a new EV fast charger capable of 1.2 Megawatt rates, setting the stage for what could be the fastest charging speeds in the world once it officially debuts next month.
ZEEKR 1.2 MW EV charger to debut at Shanghai Auto Show
ZEEKR shared some teasers of the new EV fast charger on Weibo following a speech by its vice president, Zhao Yuhui, during the recent China EV100 Forum. He spoke publicly, as seen in the video here.
Zhao said ZEEKR has developed a new fully liquid-cooled EV fast charger with a peak power of 1.2 MW per charging gun that will be released in Q2 2025 and offer the highest charging power in the world, besting BYD’s new charger by 200 kW.
As seen in the image above, Zhao pointed out the progress ZEEKR has made over the past four years, bolstering its charging rates from 260 kW in 2021 to 600 kW a year later and achieving 800 kW rates in 2023. According to Zhao, ZEEKR intends to lead the charging industry into an era of ultra-fast speeds at the 1 MW level with its new EV fast charger.
While we know ZEEKR’s new fast charger will be more powerful than BYD, it has yet to unveil a vehicle that can support such rates, unlike BYD, which is launching two new models on its Super E-Platform in early April. We also don’t know the exact speeds ZEEKR’s new EV charger will deliver.
When BYD unveiled its 1 Megawatt charger, it said it could deliver 2 km of range per second and 400 km (249 miles) during a five-minute charge. At 1.2 MW, we expect ZEEKR to surpass those charge rates, but it will depend on the architecture of the EV to accept such massive power.
ZEEKR promised to share more during the Shanghai Auto Show in late April, where it will officially debut the EV fast charger to the public. We will be there this year and will report back with all the exciting details.
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Hyundai is about to launch a new electric SUV in China. With its big debut coming up, Hyundai just dropped a sneak peek, and it looks like it could be the IONIQ 4. Check it out for yourself in the video below.
Is Hyundai teasing the IONIQ 4?
We caught our first glimpse of the new EV model last month after Beijing Hyundai released a few official “spy” photos.
Despite the camouflage, you can see a few design elements, like a light bar across the front, slim LED headlights, and a closed-off grille. At first, it almost looks like a smaller version of the IONIQ 9, Hyundai’s first three-row electric SUV, but with a much sportier, shaped profile.
Beijing Hyundai released a new teaser for the upcoming electric SUV this week. The video shows “a wave of high-end operations” as the vehicle dances across the snow.
The video highlights features like real-time torque control, high-speed cornering, and the SUV’s impressive body control while driving around cones.
Hyundai’s new electric SUV is being called “OE” internally, according to The Korean Car Blog, suggesting it could be an IONIQ model.
All other Hyundai IONIQ EV models were also codenamed with an “E” internally, which is raising speculation that this could be the IONIQ 4.
Like most global OEMs, Hyundai is fighting to compete in an intense Chinese EV market, which is dominated by domestic automakers like BYD.
Hyundai opened its first overseas R&D center last year in China to spearhead its comeback. It will work with local suppliers and tech companies to develop EVs designed for Chinese buyers. The new electric SUV is expected to launch in China later this year, followed by three new energy vehicles, including EVs and EREVs.
Beijing Hyundai will release more information on April 16, with the electric SUV set to “challenge the limit of driving performance.”
What do you think of Hyundai’s new electric SUV? Is this the IONIQ 4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Charge point provider char.gy has secured a £130 million contract to install 6,000 curbside EV chargers for Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) – the UK’s largest installation of its kind.
London-based char.gy has also been awarded a 15-year contract to operate and maintain the charging network.
Installing Level 2 chargers curbside, where most drivers in the UK park, will enable more people to take advantage of cheaper charging rates while juicing up their EVs overnight. (charg.gy’s pay as you go night tariff, between midnight and 7 am, is £0.39/kWh, compared to its £0.59/kWh day tariff.)
John Lewis, chief executive of char.gy, said the project is “a huge moment for the UK and its EV ambitions. This partnership alone will empower thousands of residents to confidently make the switch to electric vehicles, knowing they have easy access to chargers.”
Brighton and Hove City Council is among the first to tap into the government’s Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, designed to help English local authorities roll out charging solutions for residents without off-street parking. Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said making EV charging as accessible as possible is “crucial to making the switch to electric a success.”
The UK now has over 75,000 public EV chargers, according to the Department for Transport—and it looks like the country’s on pace to hit its 2030 target. Back in December, the National Audit Office said the rollout is “on track” to meet the DfT’s estimate that at least 300,000 chargers will be needed by the end of the decade.
Read more: Meet the UK’s largest solar + storage EV charging ‘Superhub’
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