BYD China lithium hybrid car now in production, F3DM

[spinningmagnets]

The F3 is a gasoline car that has been in production in China, roughly comparable to the Toyota Corolla. The "DM" means dual-mode, which is their new hybrid model. According to this article, 80 have been delivered to government fleets for real-world evaluation and promotion.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/04/13 ... es-in-fou/

0ne-liter 50kW engine with a 50kW electric motor.

On a related subject, China BAK wants to compete globally as a large-format lithium battery supplier, although they state they currently do not want to produce cars.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/98694-i ... ent-in-byd

 

[dogman dan]

Makes you wonder which american car maker will be selling them rebranded. Like the ford festiva that was really a kia. F3 sounds kinda like a ford but F3DM sounds like a personal ad abreviation 8) .

 

[Puppyjump]

Hopefully this is a serial hybrid with a decent electric only range of at least 40 miles.

Next it will be nice to see the BEV version come out.

 

[spinningmagnets]

http://www.indiacar.net/news/n89178.htm

August 2008, SHANGHAI, China BYD Auto, and Chery Automobile both plan to begin building and selling new hybrid sedans later this year in their home market of China. So far, neither company has announced formal plans to enter the U.S. market, although Chery has a supply deal with Chrysler.

The two Chinese companies already have exhibited their hybrids the BYD F3DM and the Chery A5 Hybrid at auto shows in China. BYD showed a cutaway version of its larger F6DM hybrid in January at the Detroit auto show.

The Corolla-size F3DM will go on sale later this year, priced from around $14,500, according to the Chinese Web site sina.com. With this car, BYD expects to undercut the price of the Toyota Prius by thousands of dollars. The F3DM, or Dual Mode, is a plug-in hybrid with a proprietary lithium-ion battery pack that can run on either gasoline or pure electric power.

Chery plans to begin selling the A5 Hybrid in October. It displayed an updated version of the car in April at the Beijing show. Unlike the BYD F3DM, Chery's A5 is a mild hybrid, meaning the electric motor only provides an assist to the gasoline engine

Chery has not specified the start price for the A5 Hybrid, but media speculation in China projects a base sticker of $12,000 to $14,000.

 

[spinningmagnets]

BYD is preparing to launch their BEV van, the "E6"

 

[spinningmagnets]

The "Chery A5 Hybrid" is also currently in production in China.