It would make sense for a rechargeable battery company to start producing electric cars.
Chinese company BYD is one of the top 100 enterprises in the world today with over 100 000 employees on their payroll.
For years they’ve been concerned with the development and production of IT, electronics and rechargeable battery technology, and most recently they’ve put their expertise into creating cars that are both stylish and environmentally friendly.
BYD’s automotive division has been up and running for a total of five years, and in that time they’ve managed to realize massive profits from the sale of their first range of vehicles, the F3 range.
It’s doing incredibly well for such a young company, and at this year’s Geneva Auto Show, they showed the world that they were taking the BYD “Build Your Dream” ethos to the next level with the unveiling of the BYD F3DM hybrid concept.
Doing their part to save the ozone layer, BYD introduced this family sedan as part of their display that also featured the F3, F3R, F6 and F1 models from their stable. The F3DM follows the introduction of BYD’s F6DM model that was hailed as the first plug-in hybrid vehicle in automotive circles.
Similar to the F6DM (DM standing “Dual Mode”), and the like the Toyota Prius, the F3DM is a hybrid concept that brings together two power sources in the form of an electric motor and a small gasoline-driven engine.
The F3DM will be powered by BYD’s own brand of rechargeable iron batteries, whereas the F6DM gets going via a 20kW lithium iron phosphate battery pack also produced by BYD.
The management at BYD promise that their in-house batteries used in the F3DM can be charged up to 2000 times and are easily capable of delivering a total of 600 000 driving miles during their lifetimes.
That’s pretty impressive, considering that the F3DM is by no means as dinky and lightweight as some of the other electric cars on display at the auto show. In addition, one session on charge will give the driver 100 miles in the F3DM, a total mileage that BYD say is higher than their competitors’ hybrid vehicles.
The F3DM is set to hit streets in China in 2009, and European drivers can look forward to seeing this hybrid on their roads the following year. BYD is confident that they can and will compete directly with GM and Toyota on the hybrid vehicle market.
They may be the new kids on the block as far designing and engineering both regular and hybrid vehicles, but the sales figures speak for themselves: they’ve sold over 10,000 of their regular gasoline-driven F3s every month since 2007. They’re shipping their F3s overseas too, and the F3DM is sure to become an international hit with eco-friendly drivers.
That’s certainly not bad going for a company that started 13 years ago with just 20 employees and a dream.
