BYD cars & SUVs: A detailed look at the EV maker's global portfolio

After achieving tremendous success in their home market, BYD is on a global expansion spree and has experienced success to various degrees.

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Introduction:

BYD is one of the most mysterious brands to enter India in recent times where their legacy and background is unknown to most. In fact, BYD themselves don’t have a website displaying their global portfolio in a single space. However, they have been making serious headwinds in their global expansion and are rapidly breaking down apprehensions about buying Chinese Products. Let’s take a deep dive into BYD’s legacy and their current global lineup.

Who is BYD?

BYD is one of the more recent companies in the grand scheme of things. Its founder, Wang Chuanfu noticed an impending rise in demand for batteries around the world and wanted to steal the thunder from the Japanese as electronic giants. Soon enough, he established the company in Shenzhen in 1995 and went to become one of the world’s largest battery makers in just around half a decade by ingenious utilisation of China’s cheap labour costs and manufacturing prowess. Till date more than half of the consumer electronics we use are powered by BYD batteries.

While BYD experienced success in several fields of electronics they entered into, in 2003 they acquired Qinchuan Auto and began their foray into the automobile industry. They introduced their first car, the F3 in 2005 followed by the first PHEV, F3 DM in 2008 and the first BEV in 2009, the E6. Although their initial offerings were average at best with heavily Toyota inspired designs, they soon began to use their experience in electronics to develop really advanced new energy vehicles and began transitioning into original designs. Today, they stand as the world’s number one new energy vehicle manufacturer and number two electric vehicle manufacturer.

The amusing history behind the name:

While most of us know BYD as “Build Your Dreams”, that’s far from the name they started with. The company was initially called “Yadi Electronics” based on the street the company was based on. This left them at a disadvantage as they appeared towards the end on trade shows arranged in alphabetic order. Thus they added a prefix “B” to be called “Biyadi” or “BYD” when simplified into English. They later back-formed the expansion “Build Your Dreams” as they grew and gained more international clients.

Today’s Lineup:

Today, BYD has a massive portfolio of vehicles in their home market from $10,000 to $230,000 while a few of them are sold globally. While all of BYD’s vehicles features class leading powertrains at their respective price points, the luxury quotient and material quality drastically varies across their lineup from Average i.e. E6 to German luxury car level i.e. SEAL to Ultra luxury segment level i.e. YangWang.

While BYD position themselves as a pure BEV marque abroad, they sell an equal amount of PHEVs in their home market. Their BEVs are offered with several competent battery and motor combos at very value for money price points leading them to gain significant traction in all markets.

Their PHEVs called “DM-i” or “DM-p” are very different to global PHEVs wherein they’re EV first and offer a very large battery pack from around 15-49kWh usually paired to a 1.5L Turbo Petrol Engine mostly used as a range extender, combined to produce upto 1200hp (yes you read that right).

BYD comprises of 4 sub-brands namely, BYD (core), Denza (luxury), YangWang (ultra luxury) and FangChengBao (adventure).

Blade Battery:

The LFP Blade Battery is the single defining factor of all BYD vehicles. While other OEMs opt for NMC chemistry for better power density, BYD sticks to LFP even for their largest batteries. LFPs tend to perform better in warmer climates like ours and have a far longer shelf life with less degradation. They can also be charged to 100% regularly which is detrimental to traditional NMC batteries. BYD’s LFP cells are arranged in thin strips called blades. This setup leads to much better thermal efficiency and safety and even pass the famed nail penetration test. These factors combine to ensure that BYD Blade Batteries are some of the most efficient, safe, usable and longest lasting batteries in the world. Multiple OEMs around the globe buy BYD batteries for their cars.

BYD:

Under the BYD brand there are 3 series of cars such as the E Series (commercial), Dynasty Series (core) and Ocean Series (modern/global). Different models slot in at different levels of premium-ness ranging from “commercial”, “mainstream”, “premium” and “luxury”.

E Series:

These are pure electric, back to basics products meant for commercial use and are well known for their reliability and longevity. They often offer a warranty unheard of in the industry to the tone of 500,000Km.

E2 (BEV), From $12,000

Compact Commercial Hatchback

E3 (BEV), From $12,000

Compact Commercial Sedan, based on the E2

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E6 (BEV), From $18,000

Mid Size Commercial MPV, watered down version of the BYD Song Max

E9 (BEV), From $28,000

Executive Commercial Sedan, watered down version of the BYD Han

Dynasty Series:

These comprise of the core model lineup of BYD and are the best selling models. They are named after several dynasties from China’s vast and rich history. These range from basic mainstream cars such as Qin to truly luxurious, high quality products such as the Han and Tang.

Qin (BEV), From $12,000

Mainstream Compact Sedan, one of China’s best selling vehicles

Qin Plus (BEV/PHEV), From $15,000

Premium Compact Sedan

Tang (BEV/PHEV), From $35,000

Luxury Large SUV, sold in Europe as well.

Song Pro (BEV/PHEV), From $15,000

Mainstream Compact SUV

Song Plus or Seal U (BEV-E Platform 3.0), From $23,000

Premium Compact SUV

Sold as the Seal-U abroad but not to be confused with the Seal Sedan which is a completely different, significantly more upmarket product.

Song L (BEV-E Platform 3.0), From $27,000

Luxury Coupe SUV

Song Max (BEV/PHEV), From $20,000

Premium MPV, more upmarket version of the BYD E6.

Han (BEV/PHEV), From $30,000

Luxury Large Executive Sedan, sold in Europe as well.

Yuan Pro (BEV), From $13,000

Mainstream Subcompact SUV

Yuan Up (BEV), From $16,000

Premium Subcompact SUV

Yuan Plus or Atto 3 (BEV-E Platform 3.0), From $17,000

Premium Compact SUV, sold as the Atto 3 abroad with considerable success.

Ocean Series:

These comprise of BYD’s modern take on cars with upmarket Ocean inspired designs. Most of these are aimed at the global market and have experienced success in South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand as well as UK and Europe.

Seagull or Dolphin Mini (BEV-E Platform 3.0), From $10,000

Mainstream Subcompact Hatchback

One of the entry level models of BYD that provides significant value for money and is slated to be the world’s first car featuring a Sodium-ion battery pack. Sold as the Dolphin Mini abroad.

Dolphin (BEV-E Platform 3.0), From $14,000

Premium Compact Hatchback

One of the most popular models which is a more compact version of the Atto 3 featuring the same battery and motor options.

Seal (BEV-E Platform 3.0-Cell to Body), From $26,000

Luxury Mid Size Sports Sedan

BYD is betting large on this car for their global success. This car was solely designed to beat the Tesla Model 3 at their own game with a much more upmarket build and material quality, high performance as well as very potent chassis dynamics (a trait not common in other BYDs or Chinese chars).

Sea Lion 07 (BEV-E Platform 3.0-Cell to Body), From $28,000

Luxury Mid Size Sports SUV

The SUV version of the BYD Seal featuring the same platform and powertrain options.

Destroyer 05 or Chazor or King (PHEV), From $17,000

Premium Compact Sedan, sold as the Chazor or King abroad.

Seal DM-i originally Destroyer 07 (PHEV), From $22,000

Luxury Mid Size Sedan

Not to be confused with the Seal BEV as they are completely unrelated. The Destroyer 07 was renamed to the Seal DM-i at the last minute owing to the success of the Seal BEV nameplate.

Frigate 07 (PHEV), From $29,000

Luxury Mid Size SUV

Denza:

Denza was a 50-50 venture between BYD and Mercedes Benz in an attempt to establish a new luxury brand. Daimler AG lowered their stake to provide BYD the reigns since 2021.

N7 (BEV-E Platform 3.0), From $42,000

Luxury Mid Size SUV

N8 (PHEV), From $45,000

Luxury Mid Size SUV

D9 (BEV/PHEV), From $47,000

Luxury Large MPV

YangWang:

YangWang was recently established as a technology showcase for BYD and to compete with ultra high end brands such as Lamborghini and Bentley. They all feature the E4 platform with 4 electric motors producing around 1200hp and feature the BYD DiSus series of advanced suspension that is capable of making the car jump from a standstill, extending ground clearance to a very high degree for off roading or provide a magic carpet ride with active road monitoring.

U7 (BEV-E4), From $140,000

Ultra Luxury Full Size Sedan

This is built to compete with the likes of Maybach S Class, EQS, Lucid Air and Model S. Highlights are the 135kWh LFP Blade battery, 1300hp Quad Motor Setup and a very low drag coefficient of 0.195 facilitating a claimed range of 800Km.

U8 (PHEV-E4), From $153,000

Ultra Luxury Full Size SUV

This is built to be the ultimate off-roader to compete with the likes of the Defender and G Wagon. Highlights are the 49kWh battery paired to a 1.5T range extender that combine to produce 1200hp and a claimed range of 1000Km.

It features industry first capabilities such as water sailing (not to be confused with water wading), where it can literally transform into a boat, float by vacuum sealing the chassis and sail across a water body. It can also rotate from a standstill, making a tank turn by rotating the wheels on either side on opposite directions. It can also be optioned with a DJI drone that is stored in the roof and can follow you along an off road trail transmitting the live feed to the infotainment system. The drone enclosure can also automatically swap batteries.

This car is truly out of a sci-fi movie!

U9 (BEV-E4), From $233,000

Ultra Luxury Supercar

This is supposed to compete with the likes of Lamborghini, Ferrari and McLaren. It features a quad motor powertrain producing 1300hp paired to a 80kWh LFP Blade battery facilitating a claimed range of 450km.

FangChengBao:

FangChengBao is an adventure or lifestyle oriented sub-brand.

Bao 5 (PHEV), From $37,000

Luxury Off Road Body On Frame SUV

This is built for hardcore off-roading evident by its body on frame construction. It features a 32kWh battery and a 1.5T ICE combined to produce 700hp and a range of 1200Km. It features various off-road oriented tech and tricks.

Future:

After achieving tremendous success in their home market, BYD is on a global expansion spree and has experienced success to various degrees. BYD is starting to break down global stereotypes about Chinese cars by offering various high quality products at very appealing price points.

BYD entered India for making electronics and commercial vehicles in 2007 and has finally entered the consumer automobile market in recent years. Despite resistance from the government for allowing Chinese investment, they have been able to offer a fairly competent lineup in our market and are committed to offer several more vehicles in the near future. Hope they find a way to localise more products, ultimately benefiting us consumers and inculcating more competition.

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