BYD's Evo and DM 5.0 - upgraded EV platforms
From an energy and environmental perspective the most crucial news about BYD this year is the company's development of new EV platforms and batteries.
E3.0 Evo
On the 10 of May BYD launched the first model, the Sea Lion 7, with the upgraded BEV plattform E3.0 Evo. The Evo plattform integrates five major technology clusters, including the blade CTB (cell-to-body) battery, the 12-in-1 electric motor, the broad-temperature-range heat pump, the all-domain smart fast charging, and the intelligent motion control technology.
It is still hard to know any facts beyond the official company propaganda. I won't repeat that here. I haven't seen anyone compare the new drivetrain to the latest of the last generation as in the Song L, and the real size of the step forward is really hard to judge without real world comparisons.
Sea Lion 7 vs Song L
The cheapest versions of the SL7 and Song L have the same size battery, 550km CLTC range and weight. The size of the two models is similar (wheelbase, length and width the same while SL7 is a bit taller). This is also the same as the cheapest version of the Denza N7. Song L and SL7 cheaper versions both use 19in wheels in the less expensive versions and Song L has a design with a claimed drag of 0,255 Cd.
The SL7 have a more powerfull motor (170 kW as the does the N7 compared to Song L 150 kW), and even the cheapest SL7 version has a higher top speed than the Song L AWD version. SL7 have charging speeds of 180-240kw compared to 115-140kw in the Song L, and up to 230kw in the N7 (using dual charging). The Evo plattform is claimed to achieve speeds of 500kw with (dual charging).
Song L sales started mid December 2023 from RMB 190k and a more expensive version with the same range, motor and charging speed was priced RMB 200k.
SL7 sales started mid May 2024 from RMB 190k, while the RMB 200k version has a bigger battery and a 610 km range and a 240kw charging speed.
Beginning SL7 deliveries in May 3400 where delivered in China by the end of the month. Some reports indicate an coming international expansion of sales this year in a few markets with wider exports in 2025. So hopefully more reliant tests and comparisons will show up in the nearest months.
SL7 MIIT disclosure: https://carnewschina.com/2024/01/15/byd-sea-lion-07-is-ready-for-the-market-launch-in-china/
Song L MIIT disclosure: https://carnewschina.com/2023/08/14/byd-song-l-revealed-510-horsepower-single-and-dual-motor-options/
Conclusions
On paper the cheaper version SL7 is a step forward when competing, against fossil fuel driven cars, with more power, advanced technology and higher charging speed maintaining same range and price. The overall gain in energy efficiency seem to be limited though, so environmental benefits of the upgraded platform could be small at least as seen in this limited comparison. The real jump in value is in the RMB 200k version where the pricing for a better range and charging speed is far superior compared to last year's Song L. Even compared to the more expensive and premium Denza N7 the SL7 compares well in many aspects. The SL7 is a more powerful car than last year's star and delivers a good range on a small battery. If that smaller battery is seen as enough by consumers there could really be a benefit in the use of less battery minerals. BYD really needed the upgrades to efficiency and charging speeds and is now again setting up great cars at a good price to meet an increasingly advanced competition.
DM 5.0
On 28th of May BYD launched two cars with upgraded PHEV plattform DM 5.0. BYD used propaganda as “an industrial miracle” while competition critiqued the use of the generous and dated NEDC test for range and consumption estimates. 5000 Qin L got delivered in the first three days. The plattform involves a large part of car design beyond the drivetrain. Claiming increased energy density in the battery and much more. The company says it's vertical integration in manufacturing creates possibilities for more system wide solutions.
A few interesting comparisons and test have been made and reported by Car News China.
Information on a coming upgraded Song+ PHEV (Seal U) compared to prior generation is so far the best evidence of refinement. With the same size 18.3 and 26.6 kWh the upgrade gives 91 and 128 km all-electric range respectively. Compare this to the existing 85 and 116 km WLTC ranges we can see an improvement in all electric range by 7 and 10% respectively. Fuel consumption is around 7-8% better than before at 4.95 and 4.98 l/100 km for the two different battery capacities compared to earlier 5.3 and 5.4 l/100 km.
The upgraded cars have less powerful engine (100 HP compared to earlier 118 HP) and a higher power electric motor (218 HP, before 179 HP) and combined it seems to be more power in the upgraded version. This is actually good news while not as fantastic as some of the claims from BYD and should be seen in the light of how the older version of Seal U was already out competing other the drive trains of other PHEVs as claimed by some motor journalists (check the review by carwow.es).
Comparison Song+: https://carnewschina.com/2024/06/04/byd-song-plus-seal-u-to-get-dm-i-5-0-treatment-with-new-phev-powertrain/
A blogger took a top of the line Sea Lion 06 on a high speed road trip of two days plus a bad weather third day and managed a consumption of 3.37 l/100 km, while BYD claimed a 3.08 l/100km NEDC consumption. An interesting fact was that the Honda Accord PHEV follow car achieved a higher 3.99 l/100 km on the first part of the trip until it ran out of fuel.
DM 5.0 testing: https://carnewschina.com/2024/06/05/real-world-tests-of-byds-dm-i-5-0-technology-show-better-than-advertised-results/
It seems the DM 5.0 might not be a miracle, but is an important step forward with its increased all electric range and higher fuel efficiency. It could possibly contribute to a higher share of all electric trips and when the battery isn't sufficient at least it will burn less fuel.
Blade 2.0 and more
Probably the most important news this year will be the blade battery upgrade hopefully arriving in August. At an investor meeting the 6th of June BYD shared that they had 10 000 engineers working on battery R&D.
A few more interesting new upgraded BEV drivetrains could be arriving this year with the Denza Z9, Bao 3 and YW U9. These would probably be combined with the new blade battery.
Also we are still waiting for first confirmed deliveries of BYD buses with blade batteries integrated in the chassis and late May the company launched double decker buses that could possibly be delivered to London transport by the end of the year.
Alongside the upgraded platforms BYD's biggest challenge this year seems to be upgrading the ADAS systems, so far deadlines have been pushed and only small upgrades seem to have been delivered in the Denza N7 and the new and upgraded models.