BYD to Sell Plug-In Electric Hybrid in China This Year, U.S. Later

While other manufacturers are only showing concept versions of plug-in hybrids they expect to offer in the future, BYD, a battery supplier that entered the auto business in 2003, announced at the Detroit auto show that its F6 DM plug-in electric hybrid car will go on sale in China in the fourth quarter of 2008 and arrive in the U.S. in three to five years.

BYD America vice president Michael Austin said the midsize sedan is capable of traveling up to 60 miles on battery power alone, and is supplemented by a gas engine when the battery is depleted or when traveling at higher speeds. The total range for the car, which has about a five-gallon gas tank, is about 250 miles.

The F6 DM's iron phosphate battery has a usable life of 10 years, and the car can be plugged into a regular household outlet and charged in nine hours, Austin said. When the car is connected to a special charging station, Austin said it takes only 10 minutes to recharge the battery to 50 percent, giving the F6 DM the ability to travel about 30 miles on electric power. Austin says the F6 DM will be priced between $20,000 and $30,000 when it arrives in the U.S.

At first glance, the technology in the F6 DM appears to represent a significant powertrain development, but selling cars in the U.S. is a complex business that will likely take time for the Chinese to master, regardless of what's under the hood. BYD is smart not to be rushing this car to the American market.

Comments

[LM]

So this is where we are? The Chinese are now leading innovation while the US is just talking.

"The total range for the car, which has about a five-gallon gas tank, is about 250 miles."

That doesn't sound all that impressive to me, especially if it can go 60 miles on a charge- its getting like 38 mpg; you might as well drive a regular hybrid or a fuel efficient small car. The plug in hybrids that toyota, ford, and gm are testing right now are probably worth the wait compared to this.

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/01/escape-plugin-h.html

Broq

[Amuro Ray]

Broq,

"worth the wait"

...yes, but the keyword here is "wait" - and who knows how long? May be another Tesla-like "wait?"

But this is "now," well, almost now (3rd Q of 2008).

Not saying that this is more superior, but anything that can improve our environment "now" and we can keep on improving down the road - I fully support that :)

Amuro Ray,
I fully support the environment too, but people need to understand that the production of electricity is a big part of global warming. Yes cars burn fossil fuels, but the factories that make electricity, unless they are nuclear, wind, damn water, etc. also burn fosil fuels that polute the earth too. So yes, theirs is out on the roads now (kinda). So what. The added complexity of the car along with the fact that it has to be plugged in for what basically amounts to around 38mpg is not that impressive, and to me it is not doing all that much for the environment- unless all the electrity comes from plants that don't burn fossil fuels, and there is no way to guarantee that.

Broq

I will agree with you that it is a good step, albeit a small one, in the right direction.

Broq

[Troy in Ft Walton Beach]

Broq,

If you remove even "some" fossil fuel consumption, you're still making a step towards protecting the environment. 60 miles on battery power alone is awesome. How many miles do most city dwellers drive in a day? How many non-city dwellers travel more than that?i Just imagine... If you can keep the distance down to 60 miles, you're burning zero gas! The dollar a day to recharge the battery at the plug is far cheaper and more efficient than pulling up to the pump.

Most of us Americans love the freedom to be able to get out on the open raod and drive long distances. 60 miles probably won't do it for that type of driver. Oh yeah, let's not forget the oil producers.. They wouldn't like this car either.

[Amuro Ray]

Broq,

The good news here is that in China, they have a lot of (well, clean energy it is...) NUCLEAR PLANTS, and there are always surpluses in energy output that has gone into 'waste" - so that's good for this type of vehicles with the abundant supply of energy.

Moreover, with THAT many people driving nowadays in China (all of our economist are saying that this is the reason why we've super dear gas $$$), yet almost non-existent emission regulation over there, this will be extremely important to their - and ours too - environment. Now if only the Chinese drivers will forgo their vehicles now and switch to this, or future drivers will switch to this...

[Greg]

Amuro,
China has three operating nuclear power plants, that hardly qualifies as a lot especially when Hungary and Finland have four.
It never ceases to amaze me the lack of knowledge the general public has about nuclear power. Exelon (USA) will soon have a zero waste nuclear reactor go on-line in South Africa. Why SA? Because all of the enviro fundies in this country would have fought against it regardless of the fact that it produces zero waste. SA said, we'll take it. It's built with the existing knowledge that was derived from the fifty-six npp that are in operation in France. The French government and GE are partners in the deal. Get used to seeing a lot of similiar nuclear power plants going up in the USA in the next decade as their are over a dozen pending applications from various utilities. All of which have formed a legal consortium to fight the enviro fundies along the way.

I welcome safe, inexpensive nuclear power. Just like the French have had for more than ten years...sans the waste.

[monish]

i care about the environment.also people should know more about the pollution and other problem which we are facing now.

get the best out of the hybrid car is pollution is very less.
good

[Ben]

The fact that a Chinese company with only 5 years of car making experience can bring a hybrid car like the BYD F6 DM into production shows that the likes of Toyota and GM is intentionally not willing to bring such a product to market. When you think about it deeply, you will realize why the established big car companies are actually against mass producing plug-in fully electric or hybrid electric cars. Let's look at a typical petro powered vehicle for sample. There are 3 big systems of the vehicle Toyota owns outright. They are the vehicle body, the engine, and the transmission. All the other systems making up the vehicle are outsourced. Most of the vehicle's profit for Toyota comes from the items they truly own. There is very little profit in the outsourced items such as the tires, wheels, electronics, battery, starter motor, brakes, and etc. Do you now get the picture. If the vehicle goes compelely electric, what is actually left that will be truly Toyota owned would probably be the vehicle body. Everything has to be outsourced. Toyota would have to jack up the price to maintain the same profit margin as on a gasoline vehicle. Due to the higher price, the sales volume will certainly drop. Given this scenario, Toyota will make far less money at the end. So if I am Toyota, I will be an idiot to jump on the electric car bandwagon. If I am the chairman of Toyota's board directors, I will certainly fire any CEO planning to get on that bandwagon. I will do my best to crash this bandwagon.