SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s BYD (SZ:) unveiled on Tuesday the latest version of plug-in hybrid technology that improves fuel and cost savings, increasing competition with companies such as Toyota (NYSE:) and Volkswagen (ETR:), which still sell primarily gasoline vehicles.
BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu unveiled the fifth generation of hybrid technology, which delivers a record low fuel consumption of 2.9 liters per 100 km (62.1 miles) on empty batteries, at an event in the Shaanxi provincial capital Xi’an.
With a fully charged battery and a full tank of gasoline, the technology can provide a range of 2,100 kilometers, Wang said in the city where the company’s first car plant is located.
BYD has also launched sedan versions of its Qin L and Seal 06 models, both equipped with new technology and priced from RMB 99,800 ($13,775).
Customers using the new technology can save up to 9,682 yuan per year on fuel compared to those driving gasoline models, the company said.
BYD’s latest generation of plug-in hybrid technology, which offers a battery range of tens of kilometers and fuel consumption of 3.8 liters per 100 km exclusively from the petrol engine, has supported its rapid growth from 2021 with models such as the Qin. Plus the DM-i sedan and the Song Plus DM-i SUV.
Plug-in hybrids, priced from 79,800 yuan, have made up the bulk of BYD’s sales over the past three years, with the company selling a total of 3.6 million of them.
The Chinese company cut prices on its plug-in hybrids by 10% to 22% in the first quarter, with Qin and Song outselling gasoline models such as the Lavida and Sagitar in the mass market with lower prices and lower fuel consumption, attracting the cost-sensitive Chinese. buyers.
Globally, BYD, which is accelerating its international expansion, continues to trail sales of multi-brand automakers including Toyota, Volkswagen, General Motors (NYSE:) and Stellantis (NYSE:).
BYD, along with other Chinese electric vehicle makers, poses a major challenge to Japanese automakers in overseas markets such as Southeast Asia, Australia and the Middle East, where governments impose fewer trade barriers and tariffs.
Toyota also showed off its next-generation engines on Tuesday, which it said will be compatible with alternative fuel sources such as e-fuels and biofuels, reducing carbon emissions and updating vehicle design by allowing for lower hoods.
Unlike the hybrid technology that Toyota pioneered with the Prius in 1997, plug-in hybrids led by Chinese automakers use larger batteries and can drive on electric power for much longer.
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