Observations on the New Energy Vehicle Industry: BYD's Flash Charging Technology Breaks Through Charging Limits; Geely Auto's Net Profit Surges 213% Year-on-Year

February 2025, ZhongNational New EnergyThe auto market continues to show a high growth trend, with significant vitality in both production and sales. The entire industry's automobile production and sales were 2.103 million and 2.129 million units respectively, with year-on-year increases of 39.6% and 34.4%; new energy passenger vehicle wholesale sales reached 830,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 79.6%, and the retail penetration rate rose to 49.5%. The power battery market expanded in tandem, with monthly production reaching 100.3GWh and installation volume at 34.9GWh.CATLandBYDOccupying a leading position. The charging infrastructure continues to improve, with the total number of public charging piles exceeding 3.832 million. Nearly 70% are located in ten provinces and cities including Guangdong and Zhejiang, providing a solid support for the coordinated development of the industry.

BYD "Flash Charging Battery" Technology Breakthrough: How Does High-Voltage Architecture Alleviate Energy Replenishment Anxiety?

The technological innovation behind the 10C charging rate

BYD recently released the world's first mass-produced passenger vehicle with a full-range kilovolt high-voltage architecture. The accompanying "flash charging battery" achieves a charging rate of 10C and a maximum power of 1 megawatt, theoretically enabling a 6-minute recharge. To address the thermal control challenges brought by high-voltage fast charging, BYD innovatively adopted dual electronic flow channels and direct cooling and heating technology with refrigerant, reducing heat generation by 50% and improving heat dissipation efficiency. True Lithium Research points out that if the battery cycle life exceeds 2000 times, it will meet the user's 10-year vehicle replacement cycle demand, promoting the popularization of ultra-fast charging technology.

ultra-fast charging pile popularization faces cost and grid pressure

The current cost of a single super charging pile is about 300,000 to 400,000 yuan, much higher than that of ordinary slow charging piles (which only cost tens of thousands of yuan). The power grid's carrying capacity also faces challenges: BYD's megawatt flash charging pile has a peak load of 1360kW, equivalent to one-third of the total load of an ordinary residential area. The industry expects that the power grid adaptation and renovation will take more than 5 years, relying on intelligent scheduling and V2G technology to alleviate pressure. Companies such as Sinopec are exploring the transformation of oil and electricity integrated stations, utilizing the existing network of gas stations to accelerate the layout of super charging.

solid-state batteries and high-voltage fast charging technology competition and cooperation

GAC GroupPlan to mass-produce all-solid-state batteries in 2026, with their energy density and safety expected to break through existing bottlenecks. However, in the short term, high-voltage fast charging remains the mainstream route. BYD has improved the performance of lithium iron phosphate to a level close to that of ternary lithium through "flash charge batteries," while avoiding the lagging issues faced by Korean companies in the transition to ternary batteries. The three major battery manufacturers in Korea suffered a combined loss of 4.2 billion yuan in Q4 2024 due to weak demand from Europe and America and delayed commercialization of technology, leading to a continuous shrinkage in market share.

Geely Auto's Performance Surge: Dual-Wheel Drive of New Energy Transformation and Intelligent Layout

Sales and profits hit record highs

Geely Auto's total revenue in 2024 reached 240.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34%; net profit attributable to shareholders reached 16.6 billion yuan, surging by 213% year-on-year. The annual car sales amounted to 2.177 million units, with new energy vehicles accounting for 40.8% (888,000 units), up 92% year-on-year. The Galaxy brand contributed 490,000 units in sales, and Zeekr ranked first in the pure electric luxury market with 222,000 units. Scale effect pushed the gross margin up to 15.9%, and net cash reserves increased to 39.8 billion yuan, providing ample ammunition for technological investment.

Comprehensive AI intelligence enters harvest period

Geely invested 1.59 billion yuan in R&D funds, completing the full-domain AI layout including intelligent driving, cockpit, and chassis. Its "Thousand Miles Vast" intelligent driving solution covers L3 to L9 levels, with the first model equipped set to debut in April. By integrating Zeekr and Lynk & Co resources, development costs have been reduced by 20%, aiming to build a high-end new energy group of one million units within two years.Huatai SecuritiesIt is believed that Geely's layout in the VLA model and end-to-end intelligent driving field is expected to capture 60% of the L4 market share by 2030.

overseas strategy accelerates global market penetration

In 2024, Geely exported 415,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 57%, with Lynk & Co firmly ranking first among Chinese brands in the European high-end market (vehicles priced above 40,000 euros). In 2025, it plans to add 300 new overseas outlets, with models such as the Zeekr 7X entering more than 40 countries on the 800V high-voltage platform. Geely Group CEO Ji Jiayue emphasized that they will adhere to the "dual-track oil and electric" strategy, maintaining competitiveness in the gasoline vehicle market while expanding in new energy, and increasing global market share through a "one country, one policy" approach.