Chery’s New Charger: 500 Kilometres of Range in 5 Minutes
The Chinese automotive industry is pushing the boundaries of charging speeds with a new 1.44-megawatt system.
A New Standard in the EV Industry
Charging technology in China has reached a level where automakers are competing not by minutes, but by seconds. Chery has unveiled a new 1.44-megawatt (MW) charging system capable of providing enough energy to cover 500 kilometres in just five minutes.
Technically, the system can charge a battery from 10% to 97% in six minutes and 50 seconds. This performance places it among the market leaders. While CATL’s technology achieves a similar charge in six minutes and 27 seconds, Chery’s achievement remains significant as it outpaces giants such as BYD, Geely, and FAW.
CheryMind: AI in the Charging Process
A key feature of Chery’s new system is “CheryMind,” a management system based on artificial intelligence algorithms. It monitors the battery’s internal temperature in real-time and dynamically adjusts charging power. This approach ensures optimal speed while also protecting the long-term health of the battery.
The company has also accounted for less-than-ideal conditions. Even in “conservative scenarios” where environmental conditions are not perfect, the charging system can still restore 500 kilometres of range within eight minutes. This is critical, as temperature fluctuations often reduce the efficiency of fast charging.
Global Ambitions and Competition
Charging technologies in China are currently developing so rapidly that companies are already deploying megawatt-capacity stations. For comparison, most public chargers in the US are limited to 400 kilowatts, though plans are in place to introduce 750-kilowatt systems in the future.
Chery’s plans are ambitious: the company intends to open 100 charging stations across 10 Chinese cities in the near future. In the long term, by 2029, Chery plans to install 20,000 stations globally. Although this pace lags behind competitors like BYD, such a technological leap will significantly change the EV ownership experience.
For countries like Georgia, where the number of electric vehicles is growing annually, the development of charging infrastructure is critical. The introduction of such technologies in the future means that fast chargers in cities will take no more time to “revive” a vehicle than it currently takes to refuel an internal combustion engine car.