Chinese automaker BYD continues to leave Tesla in the dust. The company introduced a new battery system on Monday that it claims can charge an electric vehicle in just five minutes, about the same time it takes to refuel a traditional car.

New energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer BYD has launched new "super e-platform", which it claims can deliver peak charging speeds of up to 1 megawatt (MW) . BYD founder Wang Chuanfu was cited by Reuters as saying that in a livestream from the company's Shenzhen headquarters that the platform enables compatible vehicles to gain enough power for a 400km (249 miles) journey after just a five-minute charge.