On Chinese social media, the photos acted like a small jolt. A brand‑new megawatt BYD Flash Charger, fully lit, with green indicators and a screen ready to serve… yet completely unusable. A thick chain wraps around its two connectors, locked with a padlock, enough to deter any driver from attempting a charge for fear of damaging their car. And there, many wonder: is this just a tasteless prank or a sign that the race for ultrafast charging stations in China has truly begun?
Because behind this striking scene lies a much more serious context. BYD is rolling out its network of BYD Flash Charger megawatt-capable stations at speed, in a market where the margins for fast-charging operators are already razor-thin. So when a BYD ultrafast charging station is literally padlocked, the question arises: is the automaker’s consolidation unsettling the market to the point that some players resort to sabotage, or at least dramatic stunts to draw attention?
Padlocked BYD Flash Charger: a sabotage that questions the Chinese market
The circulated photos show a BYD Megawatt Flash Charger with both sockets surrounded by a thick chain, locked with a padlock. The station shows no signs of damage: the screen is intact, the LEDs stay green, everything points to normal electronics. Only the physical barrier prevents any charging, with a clear risk if a driver tried to release one connector and the other connector struck the car.
On Chinese social networks, some netizens quickly point to a competing manufacturer. Yet observers deem the hypothesis of a local commercial conflict more credible. A large portion of the Chinese fast-charging network operates on a franchise model, with a franchisor supplying the hardware and the platform, and franchisees investing in site real estate and electrical connections. In this model, margins remain extremely thin, especially outside the big cities.
How BYD’s ultrafast charging is shaking up local operators… and soon European ones
Prices in these zones often sit between 1 and 1.5 yuan per kWh, roughly 13 to 20 euros cents per kWh in US terms. In that range, every cent counts. Many operators top up revenue with in‑app advertising or micro‑insurance tailored to charging sessions, intended to cover potential damages during a session. The mass rollout of BYD stations, highly visible and extremely powerful, adds pressure to this already delicate bottom line.
And it’s not just about raw power. For vehicles that don’t carry BYD’s specific charging technology, these Flash Chargers deliver speeds comparable to other DC fast chargers. Yet a large proportion of Chinese drivers favor BYD stations, seen as more modern and easier to use. That preference diverts customers from small independent operators, even though charging times stay the same, and fuels the perception of increasingly fierce real‑world competition on the ground.
The padlock episode is not an isolated incident. BYD is already facing a string of issues at its new Flash Charger sites. Videos show children turning the hefty charging cables into improvised swings, a playful use that underscores the visual appeal of these infrastructures but also highlights safety risks and potential damage to expensive equipment. There are also cases of spaces being occupied by conventional cars or by electric vehicles that do not actually charge, the well‑known “ICEing” problem frequently reported by users.
The automaker has responded by announcing a tightening of station management. The goal: prevent vandalism, limit forced charges to a standstill, and better combat spaces being blocked by vehicles that don’t belong there. In China, drivers are encouraged to report these behaviors via the official Traffic Police 12123 app. At the same time, online communities debate another possibility: some of these incidents, including the padlocked station, could have been staged by content creators, with hi‑tech charging stations repurposed for dramatic, click‑worthy footage.
Behind this buzz, BYD’s road map remains clearly in focus. The Flash Charging technology relies on the Blade 2.0 battery and targets power levels up to 1,500 kW per connector, with promises of 10–70% in 5 minutes, 10–97% in 9 minutes, and even 20–97% in 12 minutes at –30 °C. As of March 5, 2026, BYD already counted 4,239 Flash Charging stations in China and aims for 20,000 sites by the end of 2026. Each station pairs a megawatt charging unit with a stationary battery; the latter recharges slowly from the grid to deliver more than 1 MW at peak without overloading the electrical network. A configuration already tested in Europe, in Austria, where an initial station would allow charging a Denza Z9 GT at more than 1 MW thanks to a 100 kW connection. Such a setup is designed to capture the attention of entrenched networks like Tesla Supercharger, Ionity, or Fastned, and raises a simple question: how far will BYD’s ultrafast charging offensive rewrite the charging map, both in China and on the Old Continent?
