[PaulWaldman]

I understand the cost to the end user is much less, but in what ways is their technology more advanced?

[JumpCrisscross]

> in what ways is their technology more advanced?

BYD's technology, not so much--they're better at manufacturing cars in degrees compared to Tesla, not an order of magnitude.

The magic is at CATL and friends. There is a Cambrian explosion of battery technology in China that doesn't get reported super well in the mainstream press.

[HeatrayEnjoyer]

What's going on with battery technology?

[JumpCrisscross]

> What's going on with battery technology?

Iron [1] and now sodium [2].

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_batte...

[2] https://www.electrive.com/2023/11/20/byd-huaihai-move-on-pla...

[mensetmanusman]

Mostly cost reductions, there isn’t much room in the physics for higher energy density. Eg it will always be less than chemical energy density.

[nox101]

Cars that change in 10 minutes?

https://ev.com/news/byd-and-catl-set-to-introduce-ev-batteri...

[HeatrayEnjoyer]

How would that even be supplied? Megawatt circuits are the domain of industrial factories, not "gas" stations.

[JumpCrisscross]

> How would that even be supplied?

Capacitors.

[andruby]

The article states that it would need 650KW to charge at 6C rates.

Huawei has already announced 600 kW DC fast chargers: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Electric-cars-in-China/Chi...

[HeatrayEnjoyer]

The bottleneck is the grid not terminal hardware. If a home or small business asks for a multiple MW circuit they're going to be laughed at for preposterousness. Laying harmless gigabit fiber to a new area requires permits, construction, labor, think of what becomes necessary when it's enough electrons to kill a dinosaur.

[richardw]

Just one example:

https://www.drive.com.au/news/byd-to-introduce-new-second-ge...

They’re doing a lot of licensing to western companies.

[defrost]

Adding to the other peer reasons, staggering range of design styles and price points; executive class, cheap fun young cars, utility vehicles, etc.

[cyberax]

The UI is _miles_ ahead. And they are preparing to release a 1000 km (620 mile) range vehicle.