BYD could become a victim of its own success as battery supply becomes ‘tight’ on the back of new-generation 2026 Denza B5 and Atto 3

The chairman and founder of BYD, Wang Chufu, has reportedly told Chinese media battery supply at the surging automaker has become “tight” as it rolls out several new models and initiatives.

As reported by Chinese outlet IT Home, Chufu told media at a YangWang business research conference that battery supply is currently “tight” as the company releases several new models across its range of brands.

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The company’s incoming Great Tang flagship SUV with flash charging tech, for example, attracted 100,000 orders in the Chinese domestic market during its recent pre-sale phase, adding to demand for the next-generation Atto 3 (Yuan Plus) and just-updated Denza N9 with flash charging. 

As a result, Chinese media is reporting deliveries of some new cars will be delayed as pre-orders exceed BYD’s capabilities to produce the second-generation version of its signature ‘Blade’ battery.

On top of demand for the cars themselves, BYD is also needing to supply batteries for the roll-out of its new-generation flash charging pylons, which sidestep the limitations of the power grid by using a buffer battery with ultra fast output capabilities.

The pylons charge the ultra-fast battery, which can then output the massive speeds required to meet BYD’s flash charging claims.

The Great Tang, for example, can charge from 10 - 80 per cent in as fast as nine minutes despite wielding an enormous 130.15kWh battery pack granting it up to 950km of range according to the more lenient CLTC measuring standard in rear-wheel drive form.

Chinese media is estimating BYD has booked 140,000 orders for models equipped with flash charging tech. It has rolled out nearly 6000 flash charging stations, and plans to have 20,000 online before the end of the year, according to CarNewsChina, each with its own buffer battery.

Speaking to CarsGuide though, BYD Australia spokesperson Paul Ellis said the brand wasn’t anticipating any waitlists or delays on locally-delivered vehicles.

“Quite the opposite. We’ve got 30,000 cars coming in Q2,” he said, adding the usual average wait times for other brands weren’t acceptable for the Chinese upstart.

“Anything up to 12 weeks is acceptable, but for us that’s too late, we’re talking a handful of weeks, single digits,” Ellis said.

The brand just added a dedicated ship for delivering new cars to Australia the BYD Zhengzhou which in its first voyage will carry nearly 5000 new BYD and Denza cars to our market.

However, Australia is yet to receive any cars with the particularly supply constrained second-generation Blate battery tech.

The first model to get that will be the Z9 GT arriving in the third quarter of 2026. Ellis told CarsGuide there will be ample supply of the niche sports GT when it arrives.

BYD also plans to enter the charging infrastructure game with the aforementioned flash charging stations before the end of the year. The first will arrive in Q4 in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide Denza dealerships, with a view to expand to stand-alone sites in the future like those operated by Tesla.

The news comes as BYD continues to leap up the sales charts, not just in Australia, but in other export markets around the world.

Thus far in 2026, BYD has more than doubled its sales (up 110.8 per cent year-on-year), amassing 25,243 registrations locally, ranking second ahead of Kia and Hyundai and behind only Toyota for the month of April. Year-to-date, the Chinese challenger brand is now fifth in the Australian market, as it forges toward its goal of being top-three in our market before the end of 2026. It is only a few hundred sales from eclipsing Ford, but has several thousand to go to challenge Kia or Mazda in third and second place, respectively.