Chery “Volt-dragon”: 500 kilometers of range with five minutes of fast charging

Image: Chery (illustrative)

Chery has introduced the “Volt-dragon” as a new megawatt-level charging system designed to compete with those from BYD, Geely, or Huawei. The maximum charging power is 1.44 megawatts, allowing the vehicle to gain 500 kilometers of range in five minutes according to the manufacturer. Charging from 10% to 97% is said to take only six minutes and 50 seconds.

Chery has not yet specified which vehicle models will be compatible with this system. Additionally, the range figure is likely based on the unrealistic Chinese CLTC testing cycle.

According to Car News China, Volt-dragon was introduced at the company’s Global Innovation Conference alongside the AI voice model CheryMind. It is said to support not only charging networks but also robotaxis and level 4 highly automated driving systems. Chery did not clarify how the artificial intelligence specifically integrates with the charging infrastructure.

The estimated charging time for Volt-dragon is slightly longer than that of CATL’s third-generation Shenxing battery, which, per the manufacturer, can charge from 10% to 98% in six minutes and 27 seconds. BYD, Geely, and Huawei report eight to nine minutes for similar charging processes from 10% to 97% or 98%, respectively. The report states that Volt-dragon is expected to be used in vehicles with 800-volt platforms or architectures exceeding 1,000 volts.

The Volt-dragon charging stations are designed to use next-generation silicon carbide power electronics, achieving an overall efficiency of 96.5 percent from the power grid to the charging port. Liquid cooling is intended to dissipate the heat generated during megawatt-level charging. According to the manufacturer, the plug and cable together weigh two kilograms, while the operating noise level is supposed to remain below 50 dBA.

In addition, Chery is announcing automated charging via robotic arms as well as two-way charging using Vehicle-to-Grid technology (V2G), which allows electric vehicles to feed power back into the grid profitably.

According to Car News China, Chery plans to open 100 Volt-dragon charging stations in ten Chinese cities. Further expansion plans are set to be released before the end of 2026. By 2029, the manufacturer aims to have over 20,000 V2G-enabled stations worldwide. For comparison, competitor BYD had 10,000 Flash Charging stations by the end of August and plans to expand its network to 20,000 locations by the end of 2026.

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About the author

Thomas Langenbucher is an expert in electromobility with professional experience in the automotive and financial industries. Since 2011, he has been covering electric vehicles, sustainable technologies, and mobility solutions for ecomento.de. Learn more.

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