BYD e6 Features, Photos and Videos

The BYD e6 is an all-electric compact crossover/compact MPV manufactured by BYD with a range of 300 km (186 mi) according to the carmaker. Field testing began in China in May 2010 with 40 units operating as taxis in the city of Shenzhen. Sales to the general public began in Shenzhen on October 26, 2011, after over two years behind schedule (the original release date was in 2009). As of January 2016[update], e6 units are operating as taxis in Colombia, Belgium, the U.S. (New York and Chicago), the Netherlands, and the U.K. Since 2010 sales in China totaled 34,862 units through December 2016. The BYD e6 ranked as the best-selling pure electric car in China in 2016 and won a golden medal for “Best Quality Product” at the Havana International Fair 2015.

BYD planned to sell the e6 model in the US for US$35,000 before any government incentives. However, after rescheduling the US launch several times, in October 2011 BYD announced that sales to retail customers were to be delayed at least for 18 months due to the lack of charging infrastructure. In May 2013, BYD announced that the e6 will be sold in the US only to fleet consumers for US$52,000, as the company will focus on electric bus sales in North America.

Special features are the range of up to 400 km (with 80kWh battery), a guaranteed cycle resistance of 4000 charge cycles and the fast battery charging to 80 percent in 15 minutes. Therefore, the cars are often used in vehicle fleets with large range requirements like taxis, police cars or car rentals.

BYD's initial claims for the e6 in 2009 included:

This range and consumption implies a 72 kWh battery pack, which would have been the largest in any production electric car in 2009.

BYD mentioned a smaller 48 kWh battery pack for the e6 at its debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show. However, at the 2010 NAIAS, BYD indicated a range of 205 mi (330 km) per charge, an estimated 0-60 mph acceleration time under 14 seconds, and a top speed of 87 mph (140 km/h) for the e6.

Range has since dropped and consumption increased. According to BYD, the 40 demonstration vehicles that began operating as taxis in Shenzhen, China, have a range of 300 km (186 mi), a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph), and consume 21.5 kWh per 100 km. In August 2011, BYD clarified that the e6 has a range of 230 to 240 kilometres (140 to 150 mi) under more demanding conditions, such as running the air conditioning or driving up hill. In more favorable conditions, such as city driving, with lots of stop and go, the range goes up to 290 to 320 kilometres (180 to 200 mi). This claim, however, has not been verified by any independent third party testing.

In January 2011 BYD announced that in response to US consumers preferences, the American version will be more powerful than the Chinese version, and it will have a 60 kWh battery pack with a 160 kW electric motor, capable of reaching 0 to 60 mph in less than 8 seconds.

BYD's "Fe" lithium iron phosphate battery, which powers the e6, represents one of the company's core technologies. All chemical substances used in the battery can be recycled.There are four different power combinations for the e6: 101 hp (75 kW), 101+54 hp (75+40 kW), 215 hp (160 kW) and 215+54 hp (160+40 kW).Most of (or at least part of) the e6 battery pack is located on the belly pan of the vehicle.The two-motor options use front and rear motors, making the car all-wheel drive.According to the manufacturer the lithium iron phosphate battery of the car is charged at a fast charging station within 15 minutes to 80%, after 40 minutes at 100%.

After a high-speed car crashed into a BYD e6 taxi in Shenzhen on May 26, 2012, the electric car caught fire after hitting a tree and all three occupants died in the accident. The Chinese investigative team concluded that the cause of the fire was "electric arcs caused by the short-circuiting of high voltage lines of the high voltage distribution box ignited combustible material in the vehicle including the interior materials and part of the power batteries." The team also found that the collisions were the cause of death of the occupants, not the fire. They also noted that the battery pack did not explode, and 75% of the single cell batteries did not catch on fire, and no flaws in the safety design of the vehicle were identified.

BYD calculates on its website that a BYD e6 (taxi) achieved with a maturity of 5 years alone in energy costs, so power consumption instead of petrol consumption, a saving of about $74,000.

The e6 features the latest body/frame-integral construction, with the battery packprotected in a compartment that is fully integrated into the vehicle. The battery pack's outer dimensions are: 175 cm (69 in) long, 95 cm (37 in) wide and 30 cm (12 in) in height.

The 5-passenger e6 is marketed as a family-oriented crossover vehicle.

On November 4, 2012, BYD released its new solution for promoting the sales of its pure-electric vehicle e6 and electric bus at a Beijing-based press conference, which is called "Zero vehicle purchase price, Zero costs, Zero emissions" and supported financially by China Development Bank, over 30 Billion RMB now being ready for this financial program. According to the scheme targeting specifically the public transit operators/companies, customers can choose one of three provided optional operating models which could be most suitable to themselves. The three operating models as the following table reads.

The policy initiate explained the concept of "ZERO COST" by comparing the five-year fees between a fuel taxi and its all-electric cab in Shenzhen city and after a sequence of calculations, it came to the conclusion that "if the hire car runs for 5 years, and the total saving over 5 years is deducted from the higher cost of the vehicle and the interest on multiple payments, it can save 326,400 RMB. Besides, the company said if enough mileages are done, "the vehicle payment will be entirely offset".BYD also emphasized the "ZERO EMISSION" feature of its renewable-energy vehicles by stating that "an e6 electric taxi saves 14,120 litres of fuel per year, with 32 tonnes fewer CO2 emissions", and "169 million litres of fuel could be saved with CO2 emissions reduced by 38.62 million tonnes per year" if all Chinese taxis would be replaced with its EVs.

Currently, this policy is only eligible for Chinese market.

The Brussels local government selected BYD to provide electric taxis. In 2014, 35 BYD e6 taxis started their service in Brussels.

In March 2010, the South China Morning Post reported that BYD had postponed plans to mass-produce purely electric cars in China in 2010, to instead only produce 100 e6 cars for use as taxis in Shenzhen for field testing in 2010 in favor of marketing the less-expensive F3DM plug-in hybrid for the Chinese market.

The field testing program in Shenzhen began in May 2010 with 40 e6 electric cars running as taxis operated by BYD's subsidiary Pengcheng Electric Taxi Co., out of a fleet of 100 planned to be deployed later in 2010. This expansion did not take place, as 50 cars ended up being used. BYD released an upbeat announcement about the success of the testing program in conjunction with investor Warren Buffett's September visit, but did not release any information about range, acceleration or speed achieved by the test cars.

In April 2011, one year after the taxi trial began, BYD reported that its e6 taxi fleet in Shenzhen had accumulated a total of around 1,730,000 miles (2,780,000 km). The electric taxis are continuously quick charged in 20 to 30 minutes without showing any diminished range or drop in battery performance due to rapid-charging conditions, which according to BYD, "provides a proven track record for its Iron-Phosphate battery technology." BYD also announced that 250 e6s are being delivered to the International University in Shenzhen before August 2011. In June 2011 BYD announced that the fleet of e6 taxicabs had surpassed 1,864,114 miles (3,000,001 km)

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