LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - BYD said on

Friday it will launch a premium electric vehicle in Europe next

month that can charge in just minutes, far faster than anything

on the market today, as it pursues rapid overseas expansion amid

flagging sales in China.

Combined with a range of up to 800 km (497 miles) that is

well above most available EV models, BYD's Denza Z9GT model

illustrates Chinese automakers' competitive edge over legacy

European manufacturers when it comes to electric car technology.

Using the "flash charging" capabilities of the latest battery

technology it unveiled last week, BYD says the Denza Z9GT can

charge from 10% to 70% in five minutes and from 20% to 97% in

temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius in 12 minutes.

One of the challenges for mass EV adoption has been that

fast-charging electric models need about 45 minutes to refuel,

while the Denza Z9GT comes much closer to the time it takes to

refuel a conventional combustion-engine model.

BYD will also start installing flash chargers across Europe

-- where its sales grew almost 270% last year -- this summer, as

there are no chargers on the market that can handle the

1,500kW it takes to charge the Denza Z9GT in minutes.

While BYD has gone from 420,000 car sales in 2020 to 4.6

million in 2025 to become the world's No. 5 automaker by sales,

it has been struggling for months in China, where in January and

February it was overtaken by local rival Geely.

The end of China's purchase tax exemption on EVs and

plug-in hybrids has helped legacy carmakers like Volkswagen

, which regained its top-selling position in China in

January.