Late last month, Chinese automaker BYD made an absolutely monumental announcement. The company has developed a new electric vehicle battery design called the Super E-Platform, and it operates at 1,000 volts and can DC fast charge at up to 1,000 kilowatts — yes, a full megawatt — which is unheard of in the electric vehicle world. In conjunction with this exciting news, BYD also announced that the Super E-Platform would be available very soon in two different vehicles. As promised, and right on time, these products are now available for purchase in China.
Doing It Right: Under-Promising And Over-Delivering
Both the Han L sedan and Tang L utility vehicle were slated to go on sale in early April, and believe it or not, BYD has delivered. As reported by CnEVPost.com, both these vehicles – complete with their ultra-fast charging capability – are now available. A car manufacturer making good on a statement like this shouldn’t be a surprise, but in the EV world, Tesla’s countless missed deadlines have conditioned us to be more than a little skeptical about practically every announcement, especially one that’s as impactful as this.
Both the Han L and Tang L are offered as pure electrics or with hybrid powertrains (the Han L DM and the Tang L DM), giving drivers some welcome choice when shopping for a new ride. As for trim levels, three versions of the Han L EV are on the menu, with prices ranging from around 220,000 yuan, that’s about $30,000, to 279,800 yuan, a little more than $38,000. And believe it or not, that base price is significantly less than initially claimed by BYD. This Han L EV was expected to start off at 37 grand and change, so this is a significant savings. Not only did the automaker deliver these cars on time, the price is lower than expected, too. Talk about under-promising and over-delivering.
Buyers Get A Lot For Their Money
The Han L is a large four-door car. At just shy of 199 inches long, with a wheelbase of roughly 117 inches, and a width of 77 inches and change, this vehicle is roughly the same size as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan. Rear- and all-wheel-drive powertrains are available in this BYD. When properly equipped, the car has up to 1,086 horsepower and 634 pound-feet of torque, enough for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint of just 2.7 seconds.
But what’s even more remarkable than that is the Han L EV’s DC fast charging performance. When hooked to a cabinet that can provide 1,000 kW of juice, a network of which BYD is building, the car can absorb a staggering 249 miles of range (400 km) in just 5 minutes. That performance is nearly unbelievable, and extremely comparable to how long it takes to put gas in the tank of a combustion-powered car.
BYD could have a real game-changer on its hands with the new Super E-Platform. It will be interesting to see how and when this technology gets added to other vehicles in the company’s lineup, and if the Super E-Platform ever makes it to the U.S.
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