"BYD’s Fang Cheng Bao Formula S Undercuts Porsche by $96,000: Blade Battery Makes It Possible" - article

[Tooney]

BYD’s Fang Cheng Bao Formula S Undercuts Porsche by $96,000: Blade Battery Makes It Possible

The Battery Engineering That Makes the Price Possible
The price gap between the Formula S and a comparably capable Porsche Taycan AWD — which starts above $130,000 in the United States — is not primarily a product of subsidies or loss-leading. It is an engineering and supply-chain outcome that BYD's rivals cannot easily replicate.

BYD manufactures around 75 percent in-house, including its battery cells, automotive-grade IGBT power semiconductors, electric motors, and vehicle software, through subsidiaries including BYD Semiconductor. For comparison, independent analysts estimate Tesla China's in-house component share at roughly 46 percent. The Blade Battery 2.0's research and development costs are amortized across a lineup that sold over four million vehicles in 2025. BYD also holds stakes in lithium mining operations across China, Africa, and South America, and operates its own roll-on/roll-off cargo ships for vehicle export — each link in that chain eliminates a supplier profit margin that a Western automaker pays to third parties. A March 2026 analysis by Rhodium Group, reported by CNBC, found that vertical integration lifted BYD's margins despite lower consumer prices.

The Blade Battery 2.0 itself is the specific engineering enabler behind both the price and the charging speed. BYD unveiled Blade Battery 2.0 on March 5, 2026, splitting the lineup into two physical formats for the first time.

The Short Blade 2.0 — the format in the Formula S, measuring approximately 450–580 mm in cell length — is engineered for charging speed rather than maximum range. Its architecture includes what BYD's technical documentation calls a "Lithium-Ion High-Speed Channel," a directionally engineered cathode with multi-level particle sizes that enables rapid lithium-ion deintercalation without triggering dangerous lithium plating. An ultra-thin solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) membrane with electrode self-repair capability allows the cell to sustain a peak charge rate of 8C — meaning the pack can absorb energy at eight times its full-capacity rate simultaneously — and a peak discharge rate of 16C. A full Short vs Long Blade 2.0 breakdown documents these specifications in detail.

That 8C charge rate is only physically achievable on an 800-volt electrical architecture. The relationship is a matter of basic electrical physics: power equals voltage multiplied by current (P = V × I). Delivering 1,500 kilowatts of charging power through an 800-volt system requires approximately 1,875 amperes of current. At a conventional 400-volt architecture, the same power delivery would require roughly 3,750 amperes — far beyond what any production charging cable can safely carry. The 800V platform is not a marketing specification; it is the physical prerequisite that makes the Short Blade 2.0's charging speed possible. The Blade Battery 2.0 launch at Electrive provides an independent technical account of these parameters.

The result: from 10 percent to 70 percent state of charge in five minutes; from 10 percent to 97 percent in nine minutes, at BYD's proprietary Flash Charging stations. BYD began mass production in March 2026 and has deployed the second-generation Blade Battery across more than ten vehicle models.
. . .
Global Ambitions Under a Different Badge
Outside China, Fang Cheng Bao's vehicles currently reach international markets exclusively through Denza and BYD badges. The Bao 5, for example, is sold internationally as the Denza B5. Industry analysts and automotive press have noted that the Formula S's "Life Metal Aesthetics" design language mirrors the Denza Z sports car's visual identity closely — a pattern consistent with the brand's practice of creating a product under the Fang Cheng Bao identity in China before exporting it under the Denza name for premium-market positioning. A Carscoops Beijing Auto Show report noted the visual continuity between the Formula series and Denza's design vocabulary.

Whether Denza-badged Formula S variants will reach European or other markets has not been confirmed by BYD. In the United States, the question is legally moot: the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule in January 2025 prohibiting the sale or import of connected passenger vehicles from Chinese-controlled companies, effective model year 2027. The rule applies directly to BYD.

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[pteron]

But it's still a BYD

 

[Tpup]

I've ridden in a bunch of BYDs, they are cool cars. That car in the US is not going to be $34K but I'd buy one at $50K. I like my Taycan but for a daily driver I don't do well with buggy software, long lead times for parts, and stupid expensive service combined with VW quality.

 

[chun]

I've ridden in a bunch of BYDs, they are cool cars. That car in the US is not going to be $34K but I'd buy one at $50K. I like my Taycan but for a daily driver I don't do well with buggy software, long lead times for parts, and stupid expensive service combined with VW quality.

Judging by how BYD priced Denza in Europe, they won’t be able to hit even 50k, after 30% tariffs, export taxes, software localization and certifications for European safety standards. This car will start at 70k+ likely, unless they manufacture it in Europe, where they could cut the cost to 55-60.

Europe is allergic to affordable means of transport

As for US, these cars won’t ever come there legally I somehow doubt whoever comes after trump will be fast to make changes

 

[slothinker]

Judging by how BYD priced Denza in Europe, they won’t be able to hit even 50k, after 30% tariffs, export taxes, software localization and certifications for European safety standards. This car will start at 70k+ likely, unless they manufacture it in Europe, where they could cut the cost to 55-60.

Europe is allergic to affordable means of transport

As for US, these cars won’t ever come there legally I somehow doubt whoever comes after trump will be fast to make changes

As far as car technology goes, the U.S. is being left in the dust, breathing its own exhaust.

 

[Dabz]

But it's still a BYD

I’ve been in a number of BYDs and was prepared to hate them. They’re actually very clever, capable cars with an incredible price point as the icing on the cake

 

[Fish Fingers]

Its architecture includes what BYD's technical documentation calls a "Lithium-Ion High-Speed Channel," a directionally engineered cathode with multi-level particle sizes that enables rapid lithium-ion deintercalation without triggering dangerous lithium plating. An ultra-thin solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) membrane with electrode self-repair capability allows the cell to sustain a peak charge rate of 8C — meaning the pack can absorb energy at eight times its full-capacity rate simultaneously — and a peak discharge rate of 16C.

Nice and straightforward explanation for the average man in the street, moving from an ICE to an EV.


'So does that mean its not got a carburettor then?'

 

[whitex]

Historically, civilizations that became advanced, eventually grew fat and concerned over things no young, hungry civilization would never be concerned about (think, rescue efforts by celebrities saving cats or dogs from a natural disaster area like Katrina hurricane). Then the young, hungry civilization takes over, then it grows fat itself and spending its tax money on reducing the homeless cat population in some city, so the cycle continues. The progress seems to be that while in the past those emerging, hungry civilizations had to literally conquer the fat ones (think Mongols taking over Asia and Europe), nowadays it seems the conquering is mostly economic. The western civilization is the aging, fat one today. What choice does it have? Become modern day Luddites by not allowing new technologies, new drugs, etc? "We will block all new tech like cancer treating drugs, or robots to do our work, we will instead continue to live in 20th century because this is where we dominated the world"? It won't work as part of western success was exporting to the rest of the world which refuses to stay back in 20th century. Imagine if a society rejected industrialization, modern science, instead insisting all work had to be done by manual human labor in order to save jobs, no new drugs should be allowed because too many computers and not humans developed them - how would this society fair today? There exist such pockets of segregated societies on Earth today, they don't do great, their children are escaping to the modern world, and often they live off of charity of the modern world.

Welcome to the real world folks - survival of the fittest is the name of the game. The only difference between today and the past is that economically fit replaces physically/ militarily fit. I get that there are people who think "survival of the fittest" in unfair, which it is, but that is the world we live in, that is how it was created from the start.

 

[Tpup]

Lot of good books on this ^. "The Fate of Empires" or "Breaking the Code of History". China is the up and comer (early stage) and we are in a later stage where we are more concerned about protecting what we have than being scrappy and hungry...

 

[Dabz]

I mentioned that in a thread a couple months ago and had my posts deleted for being too political. So at the risk of it happening again, I agree.
”The fate of empires” is a great read and very applicable to this discussion and where Porsche seem to be right now

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