According to BYD Auto’s official WeChat account, on April 8th, BYD and KFC officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement at BYD’s global headquarters in Shenzhen.
The two companies will integrate their respective core advantages in new energy vehicles and catering retail, and conduct in-depth collaboration across the entire value chain, focusing on flash charging technology, intelligent cockpits, and KFC’s express pickup service, to jointly create a new ecosystem of “9-minute one-stop vehicle and driver charging”.
What The BYD and KFC Partnership Means
According to reports, the “9-minute one-stop human and vehicle power replenishment” ecosystem jointly created by the two parties aims to meet the dual needs of “human power replenishment” and “vehicle power replenishment”: while driving, users can use BYD’s intelligent voice control to complete ordering and payment in advance; upon arrival at the KFC Car Pickup store, they can simply roll down the window to pick up their food; then, they can plug in their phone to charge at the BYD flash charging station BYD Car Pickup store, allowing them to eat and charge simultaneously, achieving a full charge for both the car and the person in 9 minutes.
On the intelligent interaction side, BYD will first equip its Formula Leopard 7 model, a personalized brand, with the KFC-style smart ordering function, and gradually extend it to mainstream models across the group’s multiple brands.
The vehicle system will also achieve precise matching between driving routes and the food pickup process: when the vehicle arrives near the restaurant, the system will automatically trigger a pickup reminder, achieving a zero-wait experience of “intelligent driving to the store, instant pickup”.
Free Tech News noted that in terms of charging efficiency, BYD’s flash charging ecosystem will be gradually integrated into KFC’s nationwide car-hailing store network. Leveraging its second-generation blade battery and flash charging technology, vehicles can achieve a charge from 10% to 97% in just 9 minutes, allowing for a fully charged car and a full meal to be completed simultaneously, transforming charging from a dedicated wait into a seamless daily travel experience.
Li Yunfei, General Manager of BYD’s Brand and Public Relations Department, stated, “To date, BYD has built over 5,000 flash charging stations nationwide. This collaboration with KFC aims to better integrate smart cockpits and flash charging technology into daily life scenarios, allowing users to charge their vehicles while picking up or eating their meals. By the end of 2026, we will have built 20,000 flash charging stations, making flash charging a truly nationwide in-vehicle infrastructure.”
Wang Tao, General Manager of KFC China, said, “This collaboration not only brings the ordering function to the car’s system, but also allows the timelines of food pickup and charging to overlap for the first time. Car Speed Pickup 2.0 will not be limited to the food service itself, but will create a more imaginative driving experience for consumers.”
