2016 BYD Tang: Plug-In Hybrid SUV Is Very first Of Four To Come

It’s been more than six years since fabled investor Warren Buffet bought ten percent of BYD Autos, one of the few independent Chinese automakers.

At that time, the company had big plans to become China’s largest producer of plug-in electrified vehicles–and then export them to the U.S.

While the Chinese market for plug-ins has developed more leisurely than expected, BYD has persevered with a fresh range of plug-in hybrids.

It has been selling its compact Qin plug-in hybrid sedan for a year, and is now taking orders for its 2nd model, the Tang plug-in hybrid compact SUV.

The BYD Tang retails for about 300,000 yuan (harshly $48,000 at today’s exchange rate).

BYD Qin plug-in hybrid sedan, unveiled at Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, April 2012

And, according to a report by Bloomberg, more plug-in hybrid SUV models are on the way–including two this year alone, to be named after China’s revered Song and Yuan dynasties.

A further SUV, the Ming, will go after at a later date, according to a presentation given by the company last week.

BYD was the very first company in the world to launch a production plug-in hybrid; its F3DM in two thousand eight was two years ahead of the two thousand eleven Chevrolet Volt.

So it has long practice selling plug-in cars in its home market, as well as the gasoline models that are still its mainstay.

But the fresh concentrate on plug-in hybrids hardly mean it’s abandoning its efforts to sell the e6, its all-electric hatchback.

BYD hopes to sell 15,000 e6 electrical cars this year, many to taxi services, along with kicking off a rental program for the car in Hong Kong.

BYD e6 electrical taxi in service in Shenzhen, China

But increasingly, the dearth of public charging stations in major Chinese cities–and conflicting standards among those that do exist–means that plug-in hybrids are more likely to find a market.

Plug-in hybrids fall into the category of Fresh Energy Vehicles, those that receive various national, state, and local incentives in China for their capability to operate without tailpipe emissions some or all of the time.

The challenge for BYD, one that remains unaddressed, will be whether those vehicles are actually ever recharged or whether they operate entirely on gasoline.

It’s a variation of the complaint often head from California electric-car drivers about the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid: With an electrified range of just eleven miles, is it worth plugging in a Prius once you get carpool-lane access sticker?

Nonetheless, BYD remains resolute in its determination to be an early and major player among those planning to sell plug-in cars in China.

While competition is coming rapid from European luxury makes and both Nissan and General Motors, for now BYD still rules the market for electrical and plug-in hybrid cars in China.

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