When Fatboy Slim entitled an album “You’ve come a long way baby” he surely wasn’t referring to China’s little-known car manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) Auto. However, the slogan certainly applies.
BYD has taken centre stage at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week and seems to be garnering as much attention from the Press as the big guns such as Toyota and Honda. Why? Well, because it has some exciting vehicles to boast of with the F3DM, F6DM and e6 on display.
BYD Auto, a subsidiary of China-based BYD Group, the leading provider of NiCd batteries and lithium-ion cell phone batteries uses lithium-ion iron phosphate cells in its energy storage systems and claims that its battery packs retain 80 per cent of their initial capacity through 2,000 full charge and discharge cycles with a 10-year lifetime.
This system is at the heart of its vehicles. First, the F3DM, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with acceleration from 0-60mph in 10.5 seconds, a top speed of 93mph and a combined range of 360 miles.
The F6DM uses the same powertrain as the F3DM – a 50kW 1.0 litre petrol engine combined with a 25kW generator and 50kW traction motor. Its combined range is 267 miles with an all-electric range of 62 miles.
Finally there is the e6 for which BYD is planning four motor combinations and for which electric consumption is expected to be less than 18kWh/100km.
