AutomotiveNov 13, 2026, 11:43 PM UTC·2 min read

BYD robotic charger plugs in your EV so you never leave the car

BYD has shown a charger in the United Arab Emirates with a robotic arm that finds your car's charging flap and plugs in the connector, no hands needed.

A robotic arm on a BYD charger plugging a connector into the charging port of an electric car. — Image: 01net.com

Charging an electric car usually means getting out, wrestling with a cable and tapping a screen. BYD wants to remove all of that. The Chinese carmaker has shown a BYD robotic charger in the United Arab Emirates: an arm that plugs the connector into the car for you, so you can stay in your seat.

The arm uses a recognition system to spot where the charging flap is and then positions the connector. According to BYD, several connector types work with it, including CCS, the standard used in Europe.

The idea is to cut the fiddly part. Chargers are getting more powerful and cars can accept more power, so charging times keep shrinking. But parking, handling the cable and starting the session can take almost as long as the charge itself.

Does the car need Plug & Charge?

For the whole thing to work smoothly, yes: the car has to support Plug & Charge. With that feature, payment details are stored in the car, which talks directly to the charger. No card, no app, no tap.

How fast is BYD's Flash Charging?

The robot arrives alongside BYD's push into very fast charging. Its Flash Charging technology delivers up to 1,500 kW. On models with the Blade 2.0 battery, that means 10 to 70% in 5 minutes and 10 to 97% in 9 minutes.

In Europe, the Denza Z9 GT, a high-end saloon from BYD, is already ready for Flash Charging at up to 1,000 kW. The catch is the lack of chargers. BYD hopes to have 100 in Europe by the end of 2026 and 3,000 fast chargers by the end of 2027.

The company showed the robotic charger around the same time as the Yangwang U9's top speed record of more than 500 km/h. No launch date or pricing for the robotic arm was given in the material available.

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Tags:bydev chargingrobotic chargerflash chargingplug and chargeuae