Video of EV recharging as fast as a gas station fill-up goes viral

For years, electric vehicle companies have tried to make recharging their cars as fast as refilling at the pump. While progress has been made in cutting down refueling times, EVs still lag behind their gas counterparts.

Now, Chinese automaker BYD is making waves with new battery technology and charging systems that, together, the EV giant claims can recharge a car in five minutes.

A video reposted on the social platform X by Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) has gone viral, showing a BYD car with the new tech recharging incredibly quickly. 

Chinese carmaker BYD unveils a recharge as fast as filling up with gas pic.twitter.com/cgpHWxS4x9

— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) April 8, 2026

During the 89-second clip, now seen over 5.1 million times, a car owner is shown plugging in their EV before quickly redirecting their camera at the car's digital dashboard to show just how effective the new refueling system is.

In an exciting departure from current charging tech, viewers could see the car's battery level visibly increase in a matter of seconds, making BYD's claims of five-minute charging seem far more feasible.

The new system has 1,500-kilowatt Flash Charging that, when combined with its second-generation batteries (and optimal conditions), can raise its charge level from 10% to 70% in five minutes, according to Autoweek. To get from a 10% charge to 97%, BYD said it only takes nine minutes. Even if conditions aren't great, such as if it's brutally cold outside, the car can still go from 20% to 97% in 12 minutes, which would still be a remarkable improvement over American EV refueling options.

During a showcase of the new EV technology, BYD President and Chairman Wang Chuanfu

explained that such refueling improvements are necessary if EVs are to become more widespread.

But this technology is currently only available in China, with thousands of chargers recently installed and tens of thousands more slated for installation this year. However, Europe will see this tech coming sooner than the U.S., with BYD's Denza Z9GT arriving on the continent shortly, per Autoweek.

While EV sales have increased across the United States without this lightning-fast charging, there's no doubt that consumers would prefer five-minute charging to the present options.

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