Chinese firm BYD (better known as an industry leader in NiCad and Lithium Ion batteries) unveiled its second plug-in hybrid at the Geneva Auto Show. Green Car Congress says its unique three-mode hybrid drivetrain starts in full-electric mode, switches to range-extending serial hybrid mode, and finally to Prius-style parallel hybrid setting (with gas and electric motor operating together). Scheduled for 2010 (isn't everything?), the new F3DM is aimed at the European market. BYD is not shy about its chances for success in the hybrid and electric car markets. "Battery technology is our core competency," Chairman Wang Chaunfu boasts. "And we think we are well-placed against GM and Toyota." No surprise then, that the company's 20kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery pack can go 70 miles on a single (long-ish) nine-hour 220 VAC charge… with a gas engine ready to kick in to extend range or increase power at any time. With a BYD test-fleet of taxis preparing to take to the streets of Shenzhen, the first automaker to sell an out-of-the-box, plug-in hybrid could well be Chinese.
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Sure, it’s great for the environment…but what about the MSG-related headaches?
I bet it has a tiny gas tank. One moment it’s completely full, and then the next thing you know, it’s empty again.
Jalopnik had a photo tour of a test ride of the previous model: http://tinyurl.com/36q2vj
Worth reading the comments from previous GCC articles:
BYD, isn’t this the company that singed(sic) a long term technology sharing agreement with GM. And as soon as they had learned what they wanted to know, they told GM to get lost.
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As an efficiency nut, I admire the sensibilities of their Tri-mode. It sounds to me like they made a good choice to underpower the gas motor, and then have only a small gas tank that they hope you will hardly ever need because you will mostly plug in. That saves weight two ways and makes more space for electronics and batteries. We don’t really need a big gas tank for 800+ miles range on this puppy, because the point is to mostly use it as a BEV anyway.
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Dream On. So many of you are gullible. Y’all beleived the Phoenix EV baloney, and as time passes we still don’t see any $200,000 Phoenix electric sportcars.
BYD is a battery maker that has little experience in auto manufacture. When they have a vehicle that is importable, passes all the required tests, in about half a dozen years, they may become a player.
But by then all the established players will have similar or better vehicles. If they want to win, they wil have to eneter at the low end, compete on price, and build an image.
So many of you justly criticize vaporware and concept cars from the majors; bu then fall for this. But this is the TRUE GENUINE vaporware.
A three mode hybrid? Is this the beginning of the mode race? Just like the auto trans gears race.
Will Lexus be bringing out a 8 mode hybrid that parks itself?
I am stunned at what a perfect replica of a 9th gen Corolla that is. Although perhaps I shouldn’t be.
“Will Lexus be bringing out a 8 mode hybrid that parks itself?”
And gets an amazing 20 mpg on the highway, of course.
This is an intriguing concept, as it incorporates the best of both existing hybrid types (serial, parallel). It has the extended electric-only range of the serial, and the efficiency of a mechanical transmission of the gas engine to the wheels at higher speeds.
A better way to describe this vehicle would be a “hybrid hybrid”, since it switches between the two types of hybrid drives.
Talk about a slap in GM’s face if the Chinese can get this on sale in Europe before the Volt sees the light of day. It sounds more compex than the Volt too. I wonder how much weight all these modes add to the car, sounds like 1/2 the weight of the car would be the drivetrain+batteries.
I wouldn’t plant my a$$ in this thing even if I was promised a years supply of Kung Pow chicken free!
As Mike Myers used to say “if its not Scottish, it’s crap!”
Sorry, any Chinese automaker must prove itself with several years of quality product before most of us will bite.
Chinese toys kill us. Now toothpaste. Their cars will urinate on our rotting corpses!!
BYD is not shy about its chances for success in the hybrid and electric car markets.
If the car will actually be sold like that, looking like an almost exact copy of the Corolla, it will flop no matter how good the drivetrain is. I would also expect lawsuits to pop up in certain European countries.
Right now worldwide, there is a big aversion to “Made In China” products after several big health and safety scares from Chinese-made products. Some European countries even go as far as banning certain Chinese products.
The Datsun 1500 looked an awful lot like an MGB, but that didn’t stop ’em from being sold.
A Chevy HHR looks a lot like a PT Cruiser and was designed by the same person … the marketplace said so what? A Ford Five Hundred looks like a prior generation Passat after too many corticosteroids and VW didn’t sue. Again, same designer of both the Five Hundred and the Passat.
BYD may or may not make it with their car, but looking a bit like a Corolla isn’t going to be a problem.
I saw these cars at NAIAS, and they not only look like the last Corolla, I seriously think the doors and some of the other panels, as well as the entire interior, could fit onto a real Corolla!!! I mean, they were that close!!! They also had a car that from the side profile was a dead ringer for the last Accord, with a very similar interior design. Why Toyota and Honda haven’t sued yet is beyond me…
BYD…”Build Your Dreams” Apparently their dream is to build someone else’s reality.
BYD may or may not make it with their car, but looking a bit like a Corolla isn’t going to be a problem
A bit? This BYD looks *almost EXACTLY* like a 9th gen Corolla, except for some very tiny differences. As mentioned, many panels ARE exactly the same as a Corolla.
Lawsuits will be waiting to happen outside of China. Inside Chinese courts, both Toyota and Honda have tried (and failed) to sue Chinese companies that have blatantly copied their designs. Outside Chinese courts will be another matter however.