Author: Guo Hehe
The scorching summer can make people feel irritable, but it doesn’t seem to affect the Chinese auto market. Before August, the hot topic was the official launch of the BYD Dolphin.
The new car has four models, with an official price range of CNY 2.098 million to CNY 2.868 million, which is slightly lower than the pre-sale price by CNY 3,000. Based on the BYD e-platform 3.0, the car has three different driving ranges (CLTC) of 550 km, 650 km, and 700 km. Except for the top-grade four-wheel-drive version, all models have rear-wheel-drive layout. Moreover, for the 650 km four-wheel-drive performance version and above, the car will come with the iTAC intelligent torque control system, which is very important for users who have a four-wheel-drive configuration that tends to sway. It is reported that the new car is expected to start deliveries next month.
At the same time, BYD also announced the purchasing rights for the Dolphin, launching a series of benefits including 2-year free car-machine communication flow, 2-year free cloud services, 2-year free E-Call emergency rescue, i-Call smart customer service, free intelligent voice interaction system, the first non-commercial car owner will receive a free charging pile and free installation within 2 years, and lifetime warranty (for the first owner) of the three power systems, a 6-year or 150,000 km vehicle warranty, and 1-year or 30,000 km road rescue with no liability. There are also financial policies for 24-60 periods of extended low interest rate and other benefits.
There is another interesting thing. Now, if you book a car, you can get a free manual sunshade for the entire series, which, although not a lot of money, is too much even for a panoramic sunroof-equipped car. At this moment, I think the psychological shadow area of Tesla owners who are roasted in Guangdong is considerable.
As the culmination of the e-platform 3.0, the BYD Dolphin is the epitome of BYD’s top-notch new energy technology, which can be described as a muscle car. The CTB and iTAC technologies are also the first ones to be used in the brand. They sound mysterious, so what are CTB and iTAC? What impact will these technologies have on vehicles?
What is CTB?
First let’s talk about CTB technology, which stands for Cell to Body, an integrated battery and vehicle body technology. Previously, most of our electric cars used CTP technology, which is to first make the battery into a battery pack and then put the battery pack into the chassis. CTB technology, however, integrates the battery tray directly as the bottom and the vehicle body floor integrates the upper cover of the battery, and the built-in blade battery is not only an energy body, but also a structural component of the vehicle body. This can double the torsional stiffness of the whole vehicle. The higher the body stiffness, the smaller the deformation of the frame, which can effectively suppress body vibration, significantly reduce component wear caused by body vibration, and even improve handling performance.
In addition, CTB’s form can save more space for larger capacity batteries than traditional CTP technology, and it can also lower the physical center of gravity of the vehicle, solving the disadvantage of high sitting position caused by high platform of conventional new energy vehicles. Because the center of mass of the CTB blade battery pack is more balanced, the BYD’s Han can achieve a 50:50 golden axle load of the whole vehicle, which makes the vehicle’s handling and stability better. Moreover, the blade battery, which is similar to a “honeycomb” structure, can achieve a breakthrough in the structural strength of the battery system. The BYD Han Blade passed the 50-ton heavy truck roller test successfully before, and the battery structure was completely intact after the rolling test, further improving its safety.
What is iTAC technology?
Next, let’s briefly talk about iTAC technology. iTAC stands for Intelligence Torque Adaption Control, which is the BYD’s intelligent torque control system. In the past, in order to keep the car stable or prevent slipping, we would choose to reduce the output power to achieve the goal. However, iTAC upgrades this method to torque transfer. By “reduce torque appropriately or output negative torque, and other control methods”, it can dynamically adjust the torque distribution of the front and rear electric motors according to the driver’s needs, combined with vehicle body posture, wheel status and other information, thereby helping electric vehicles to improve handling stability and driving safety.
When the wheel rotates one round, the traditional wheel speed sensor can only generate 32 or 48 signals, while iTAC uses the motor rotation sensor to monitor the motor speed. Each time the wheel rotates, it can generate 4096 signals. Therefore, compared with traditional ESP control anti-skid, it can predict the change of wheel speed more than 50 milliseconds in advance, intervene before the wheel is empty, and achieve more efficient anti-skid.
After educating us on the hardcore technology, let’s talk about the purchase aspect of the BYD Hanma. The Hanma offers rich features in entertainment configuration, voice configuration, and safety configuration. In terms of entertainment system, the latest BYD DiLink system provides a massive amount of resources. For example, the commonly used WeChat, Douyin videos, Toutiao, QQ Music, and even games such as Landlord, Peace Elite, etc. are all available in this system.
In terms of intelligent voice, the new car voice assistant not only can link well with entertainment systems and navigation applications but also supports many customized settings. For example, users can customize the wake-up word, edit designated phrases or commands, and even customize the gender and pronunciation (Cantonese, Henan dialect, etc.) of the voice assistant.
The BYD Hanma is equipped with a 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system, except for the entry-level models. People familiar with BYD know that this is not a badge sound system that was previously rumored, but a real Dynaudio system. In addition, it is also equipped with front facing airbags, driver’s knee airbags, front/rear side airbags, front/rear integrated side safety air curtains, active driving assistance system, passive pedestrian protection, 360-degree panoramic view, full-speed adaptive cruise, four driving mode switching, etc. All of these features are standard, while the top-of-the-line model also comes with adjustable suspension.
Both active and passive safety configurations are also well-equipped, including hydraulic power-assisted braking, hydraulic braking assistance, parking braking deceleration control, comfortable braking function, driver fatigue monitoring system, in-car camera, driving recorder, blind spot monitoring, etc. In addition, the four-wheel drive performance version is also equipped with a head-up display.
In terms of seating configuration, the Hanma front row is equipped with an integrated seat, with the driver’s seat providing 8-way power adjustment and the passenger seat providing 6-way power adjustment. High-end models offer seat ventilation/ heating, leather seats, driver’s seat memory, driver/passenger 4-way power lumbar support, and the air conditioning is equipped with a heat pump, dual-temperature zone control, PM2.5 green cleaning system across the full range.# Advice on Buying BYD Dolphin
There are four versions of the new BYD Dolphin, so you don’t have to be too picky. Both the entry-level version and the mid-option version have a range of 550km. The standard range Elite version of the entry-level and the luxurious range of the mid-option have a price difference of 13,000 RMB. The configurations that differ are rear seat belt reminder, heated/ventilated front seats, Denon sound system, and ambient lighting. The sound system alone is worth more than 8,000 RMB. Other features like heated/ventilated front seats are practical, and the entry-level version takes longer to deliver, making the luxurious range more cost-effective.
The luxurious range and the 700km long-range version have a price difference of 37,000 RMB. The main differences are that the rear motor power has been upgraded from 150kW to 230kW, the battery pack has been upgraded to 82.5 degrees, and 0-100 km/h acceleration has been upgraded to 5.9 seconds. Other features include four-piston calipers, power trunk, HUD display, and fatigue monitoring driving. If your budget is sufficient, the long-range version is also a good choice. As for the four-wheel-drive version, it is the only choice for performance enthusiasts.
As for the charging rate, the two standard range versions support a maximum of 110kW DC fast charging, and the other two versions support up to 150kW DC fast charging. The fast charging time from 30% to 80% for standard range and long-range versions is within 30 minutes. With VLOT discharge function as standard in the whole range, charging and discharging convenience will not be the reason to decide your purchase.
In addition to the fixed configurations, BYD Dolphin also offers optional packages for consumers to choose from. For example, the appearance colors of Marine Lens Blue, Grass Green, and Mysterious Grey are RMB 5,000. The light-sensitive panoramic moonroof package is RMB 8,600 (only available for the four-wheel-drive version), and includes the Newbury Green/Le Mans Orange exterior package, sport rear wing, front and rear exclusive color brake calipers, suede sport seats, suede roof, and matte Atlantis Grey performance package, which is RMB 20,000 (only available for the four-wheel-drive version). It is worth mentioning that this sports package also includes the advanced iTAC, and the whole chassis has been retuned. As a performance enthusiast, I personally think it is a must-have.Many people may think that BYD has shown its strength as an independent brand. At this price point and with this performance, isn’t it clearly chasing Tesla Model 3? Finally, it will be able to take away Tesla’s customers! It’s possible that some of the customers of the sea lion may come from potential customers of the Model 3, but I think the percentage is not too high.
In my opinion, their relationship is more like Apple and Android in smartphones. Both will not sell poorly, but what is really worrying is the old-fashioned fuel-burning sedans at the 200,000 yuan level. Judging from Dolphin’s sales, many people initially thought that a pure electric small car that costs more than 100,000 yuan and has a monthly sales of several thousand units is already impressive. However, it has been on the market for almost a year, and Dolphin’s monthly sales have steadily entered the 10,000 mark. Instead, it is like the Honda Fit, which has been snatched from the market. Therefore, the relationship between the sea lion and Model 3 is more like a combination of smartphones attacking feature phones.
As the saying goes, you have ternary lithium, I have blade battery, we both have a bright future.
As for the production capacity issue that everyone is most concerned about, the sea lion will be put into production at the Jiangsu Changzhou factory and enjoy the highest priority. The original Element PLUS in the Changzhou factory will be moved to other factories for production. The initial monthly output is 3,000 units, and the September capacity can climb to 10,000 units. The peak monthly output is expected to reach 36,000 units. In addition, BYD plans to complete all orders currently reserved before the end of this year, so those who have placed orders do not have to worry about missing this year’s national subsidy opportunity.
BYD Sea Lion is one of the rare cars that has not been tested before it was launched. Even the other color schemes were only announced at the launch event. Consumers just made the order with their eyes closed. As of the launch event, the number of orders for the sea lion has exceeded 60,000. For a domestically produced car that has not been test driven, being able to achieve such a result, the name “explosive model” is well deserved for the sea lion.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.