Chinese automaker BYD Auto announced this week the large-scale commercial launch of its F3DM compact hybrid sedan in September. With its very long operating range in electric mode, the car had raised a lot of interest at the Detroit Auto Show last January.
Launched on the Chinese market in December 2008, sales of the F3DM were until now limited to government agencies and large corporations, the only ones who could justify its high price of 150,000 yuan (almost $22,000).
By switching to mass production, BYD executives plan on benefiting from large savings to reduce the price of the car and make it more attractive to the general public.
The announcement doesn’t mention if sales will be limited to the Chinese market this year. We do know however that American billionaire Warren Buffet invested massively in the company. At the end of 2008, MidAmerican Holdings, a division of Berkshire Hathaway run by Buffet, acquired 10% of BYD’s assets for over 230 million US dollars.
In addition, BYD announced earlier its intention to expand its lineup of plug-in hybrids by introducing a mid-size sedan, the F6DM, and a seven-passenger minivan dubbed E6.
Long electric operating range
According to its designers, the F3DM can travel 100 kilometres in electric mode and reach top speeds of 160 km/h. Its lithium-ion battery pack reaches a 50% charge in 10 minutes thanks to a dedicated BYD charging terminal. However, a full charge requires eight to nine hours with a 220-volt residential outlet.
The F3DM (for Dual Mode) is a plug-in hybrid. It has three operating modes: all electric, like a series hybrid where a heat engine recharges the batteries, or like a parallel hybrid where the car is powered by the combined energy of the electric and heat engines.
The F3DM’s batteries can be recharged from a dedicated charging terminal or by plugging their charger into a residential power outlet.
BYD Auto is a subsidiary of the BYD Group, one of the biggest manufacturers of nickel-cadmium batteries (65% of the global market) and lithium-ion batteries for cell phones (30% of the global market).
photo:Newspress
Launched on the Chinese market in December 2008, sales of the F3DM were until now limited to government agencies and large corporations, the only ones who could justify its high price of 150,000 yuan (almost $22,000).
By switching to mass production, BYD executives plan on benefiting from large savings to reduce the price of the car and make it more attractive to the general public.
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| The BYD F3DM was introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2009. |
The announcement doesn’t mention if sales will be limited to the Chinese market this year. We do know however that American billionaire Warren Buffet invested massively in the company. At the end of 2008, MidAmerican Holdings, a division of Berkshire Hathaway run by Buffet, acquired 10% of BYD’s assets for over 230 million US dollars.
In addition, BYD announced earlier its intention to expand its lineup of plug-in hybrids by introducing a mid-size sedan, the F6DM, and a seven-passenger minivan dubbed E6.
Long electric operating range
According to its designers, the F3DM can travel 100 kilometres in electric mode and reach top speeds of 160 km/h. Its lithium-ion battery pack reaches a 50% charge in 10 minutes thanks to a dedicated BYD charging terminal. However, a full charge requires eight to nine hours with a 220-volt residential outlet.
The F3DM (for Dual Mode) is a plug-in hybrid. It has three operating modes: all electric, like a series hybrid where a heat engine recharges the batteries, or like a parallel hybrid where the car is powered by the combined energy of the electric and heat engines.
The F3DM’s batteries can be recharged from a dedicated charging terminal or by plugging their charger into a residential power outlet.
BYD Auto is a subsidiary of the BYD Group, one of the biggest manufacturers of nickel-cadmium batteries (65% of the global market) and lithium-ion batteries for cell phones (30% of the global market).
photo:Newspress
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