BYD Unveils Revolutionary Hybrid Powertrain with 2,000km Range

• BYD unveiled a hybrid powertrain capable of traveling over 2,000 km on a single charge and tank, showcasing models Qin L and Seal 06.
• Despite impressive sales and fuel economy milestones, the entry of BYD’s hybrid vehicles into the North American market remains uncertain due to increased US tariffs on Chinese imports.

Chinese automaker BYD recently unveiled an advanced hybrid powertrain capable of covering an estimated distance of more than 2,000km without needing refueling – as per company claims.

On Tuesday evening from China, BYD unveiled an online live demonstration of its revolutionary system – and with it came news that one of its dual-mode plug-in hybrid cars could travel the equivalent of New York to Miami (Kamloops to Winnipeg or Halifax to Toronto). All on just a single charge and full tank.

As Automotive News reports, BYD recently achieved another notable landmark for fuel economy with five generations of hybrid technology since their initial implementation on vehicles back in 2008.

BYD Motor is on an incredible run right now. Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, BYD sold nearly three million vehicles last year and one million this year as of end March thanks to aggressive price reductions that put profits under threat.

Subsidies from government allow companies like BYD to execute such strategies successfully, with Beijing’s strategy consisting of simply helping it gain ground on its rivals in the electric car market. When BYD began receiving subsidies in 2020, their total received was equivalent to 220 million Euros; two years later this figure rose to 2.1 billion. It has reportedly since received around 3.5 billion from their local governments.

At the start of 2022, BYD discontinued producing cars powered solely by gasoline engines and has significantly expanded exports of hybrid vehicles into emerging markets where battery recharging infrastructure may be lacking or nonexistent.

Of all of the models capable of covering over 2,000 km without needing fuel refill, two mid-sized sedans that were recently unveiled at Beijing Motor Show — Qin L and Seal 06 mid-sized sedans from Dynasty and Ocean series respectively — stand out.

Will these models ever reach North America is still unknown. President Biden of the US recently doubled tariffs on vehicles imported from China; Canada, however, is holding off joining for now, fearful that doing so might alienate both its American ally as well as China.

Looking further ahead, the technology that underlies this powertrain could find application elsewhere and in powertrains from different manufacturers.