The car making arm of Chinese battery maker BYD has launched its fifth-generation DM-i power train technology, promising extraordinary long range thanks to new energy miserly plug in hybrid technology.
DM-i power trains have a claimed 46.02% thermal efficiency, using a mere 2.9 litres of fuel per 100 km. The result of that frugal consumption is a huge 2100 kilometre range, BYD says.
Improving the thermal efficiency of fossil fuel engines has become the holy grail of some car makers; the proportion of fuel converted to power can be as low as 20% and anything near or over 40% is considered excellent. Japan's Mazda said some years ago that it is working on a SkyActive technology engine with 56% thermal efficiency, which the company claimed would bring emissions down to electric vehicle levels.
The battery side of the hybrid power train is said have a power density of 70.28% with a new seven-in-one PHEV controller, and BYD's Blade Battery comes with a 15.9% energy density. It has what BYD calls "a pioneering full-vehicle thermal management system adaptable to all climates".
According to BYD, the new thermal management system governs heat across the battery, engine bay and cabin. In hot conditions, battery cooling and adaptive grilles for air intake seven up to 10% of energy, whereas in cold conditions it can reduce consumption by up to 8%.
BYD will use the DM-i power train in the Qin L and Seal 06 plug-in hybrid models, which in China sell for NZ$22,515 to NZ$31,540.
Whether or not the Qin L or Seal 06 will arrive in New Zealand, and if so, their specification levels and pricing is not known yet, local distributor Ateco told interest.co.nz.
Ateco and BYD recently launched the Sealion 6 SUV model, which starts at $57,990 plus on road costs. The Sealion 6 is a plug-in hybrid vehicle with a Xiaoyun DM-i drive train featuring a 1.5 litre petrol and a dual-motor electric engine.
The front-wheel drive model is rated at 1100 km range, and can go up to 92 km in electric-only mode. Combined output from the petrol and electric engines is 160 kW with 300 Newton metres of torque, and a fuel consumption of 1.1 l/100 km.
In AWD specification, the figures are 238 kW and 550 Nm output for the drive train, 81 km EV-only range, and a total driving range of 970 km. All figures as quoted by BYD, and likely to differ in real-world use.
69 Comments
The Toyota Prius claims 3.4L/100km so 2.9L/100km doesn't sound that revolutionary.
That claim of 1.1 l/100 km in the penultimate paragraph needs clarification as above that there is a claim of 2.9 l/100 km and the 1.1 figure is coming from a "plug-in" hybrid which means it is charged from the power grid.
These sorts of figures are always obtained on test tracks under very controlled conditions. Even the Prius one.
Buying a new EV is a sure recipe for losing a a great deal of money in depreciation and insurance premiums.
People are finding that the savings through zero-petrol/diesel are insufficient to compensate for other (higher) running costs.
Despite the recent price reductions, EVs are still far too expensive for what they offer. Further, few models offer a great driving experience.
TTP
True of buying any new car, buy used, maybe 5-10 years old and you'll save a fortune in depreciation and insurance vs anything new. True for electric and petrol cars
My used Leaf has a great driving experience. Snappier off the line than any petrol car I've driven, and so much quieter
I don't know about these new ones , but my old prous had a gear position for steep downhills, where the engine would run full bore, somehow creating resistance, to prevent too much regenerative going into the battery. I would say the modern ones have things like sport and economy modes, which would effect the economy.
Chinese Phase IV and Phase V vehicle fuel economy standards https://www.transportpolicy.net/standard/china-light-duty-fuel-consumpt…
The Toyota Prius claims 3.4L/100km so 2.9L/100km doesn't sound that revolutionary.
Spotting people who don't have an engineering background has always been a sport of mine. A 0.5L/100km reduction sure doesn't sound revolutionary until you realise that at this level it's a 15% reduction i.e. better than a 1 in 8 improvement. And as other people have suggested, the BYD vehicle is quite a bit bigger and heavier than a Prius. So it's quite an astonishing engineering achievement given that Toyota has been doing hybrids for 30 years and BYD has been doing it for just a few years.
I drove our 2021 Yaris from Masterton to Wellington, over the Remutaka hill, from an overall altitude of 124m to 240m (that makes a difference) and achieved 3.0 l/100km. The Remutaka hill is a barrier as all the downhill is far too much regenerative ability for the battery to cope with, so roughly half of the potential energy is lost to heat in the brakes.
[First time post, so be gentle!]
You cannot move to a greener future without depending on China, unfortunately.
Chinese factories are running almost a global monopoly on supplying everything required for an industry, household and entire economy to electrify (copper wires, lithium batteries, power equipment (generation, transmission and distribution)).
While our youth protest for climate action on streets, theirs is learning the trade and engineering skills required to help China clip the ticket on a global move to electrification.
Taiwan is literally part of a single China, both the UN and the USA accepted this in the 1970s. The real issue now is that the USA needs to start a war with China in the next couple of years and to do so the USA will attempt to provoke Beijing to the absolute maximum possible eg. positioning US soldiers on Taiwanese islets just a couple of kilometres from mainland China.
Doesnt matter how it is powered
Filling up with whatever is a pain, so most people will see that range as a huge bonus.
Also it makes ordinary range EVs obsolete. Which is as expected in an energy tech arms race.
Few thought of this, the ones who dived into overpriced Tesla 3s certainly missed that memo. Get out now!
LOL, the problem for petrol will be firstly price then availability. No matter how good your hybrid system, if you can't get fuel then it's useless - you are down to PHEV range only and rapid cycling of the small battery will deteriorate it quickly. For the EV, you can make my own fuel from your rooftop.
"problem for petrol ..."
You're assuming all future hybrids will use petrol engines. Probably a dangerous assumption. Many military vehicles can run on multiple fuels, including petrol, diesel, alcohol and cooking oil ... and blends thereof. (and there's hydrogen either as a combustible fuel or to produce electricity via a hydrogen fuel cell)
"rapid cycling of the small battery"
You're assuming all future hybrids will be the same as the current ones. Probably also a dangerous assumption. EVs are already available with range-extender engines. These engines are small, efficient (in comparison current ICE engines), and run at a constant speed mainly to re-charge the batteries but some will get you home should the electric engine / batteries fail completely.
Couple of timely links to the above ...
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/350294848/toyota-mazda-and-subaru-join…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/130979287/mazda-has-actually-brought-t… (1L/100km, not bad at all.)
While I agree with the premise behind what you say, I can honestly say that if the availability of petrol is removed or restricted in any meaningful way (as your example implies) then no owners of EV's would dare drive out of their garage and down the road as the 'great unwashed' would steal or destroy the vehicle in seconds. Your roof top panels would be gone by that stage too. I'm sorry but we're all tied into fossil fuels, until death do us part.
Over the last 100 years we've developed all sorts of ICE engines. But we've up until recently used just two types (or three if you include the rotary engine).
Recently we've seen a new type used commonly referred to as an Atkinson cycle. Looks very similar to existing ICE engines but is more efficient. It trades in total power for greater efficiency. Most Toyota hybrids use them. And why? Because the massive torque from zero revs is provided by the electric engine and the total power available is seldom needed at constant motorway speeds.
So where to from here? Atkinson cycle engines are just the start. There are numerous other types of engines that are more efficient that would make sense to use where the primary power is electric and the ICE engine is being used as motorway power or even just for range extending.
Hybrids do make a lot of sense for many people (although having two power systems will keep costs higher). For most of our journeys an EV will suffice (and their price will continue to fall as they're far simpler from an engineering pov.) What's holding us back? Hmmm. Cognitive dissonance?
The Atkinson cycle was patented in 1882, not very successful then. Closes the intake valve much later, piston is 20-30% into the compression stroke much more efficient power stroke, but no low down power. There is some pretty cool valve tech developed by koenigsegg, completely electric, no camshaft at all, infinitely variable.
There are numerous other types of engines that are more efficient that would make sense to use where the primary power is electric and the ICE engine is being used as motorway power or even just for range extending.
Sadly there have likely bee hundreds if not thousands of better efficiency engine designs over the years but the big producers did whatever they could to buy out, threaten, and stifle any attempt of them to get to any scalable success.
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