BYD expands upmarket and brings flash stations to Europe

Chinese group BYD is moving from the mass market into the high end, targeting the likes of Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It started the Denza joint venture with Mercedes-Benz in 2010 and took full control in 2024. Trade body Acea recorded BYD’s sales in the UK and Europe more than tripled last year to nearly 190,000 vehicles.

As of January it had a 1.7 percent market share in the EU and a 2.4 percent slice of the UK market last month. BYD said it would start installing hundreds of its “flash stations” in Europe this year. The company already has more than 4,200 sites in China and aims to have 20,000 operating worldwide by the end of the year.

The move echoes Tesla’s fast Supercharger network, which can give Tesla vehicles up to 200 miles (321km) of range in 15 minutes. EV sales surged last year to account for 17.4 percent of EU sales, up from 13.6 percent in 2024, and battery-powered models overtook petrol for the first time in December.

byd, denza, mercedes-benz, porsche, bmw, flash stations, ev sales, europe, supercharger, acea