Translation

Authors: Qiu Kaijun and Tian Hui

BYD DM-i has proven itself.

Previously, people may have doubted whether BYD DM-i was really that popular. The officially revealed order volume continued to rise: 30,000, 50,000, until mid-May, it exceeded 100,000.

Now, actual sales show that BYD DM-i can indeed compete. In June 2021, the DM-i model led the sales of the entire plug-in hybrid car series to exceed 20,000 units, making BYD the first brand in the world to achieve more than 20,000 monthly sales of plug-in cars.

Sales are the best test of technology.

BYD DM-i has become the car of choice for over 100,000 consumers, proving the success of DM-i technology. This is a technology that has brought both brand and market success.

DM-i: From praise to be purchased

BYD DM-i is finally showing its strength.

For two consecutive months, the monthly sales of BYD DM-i exceeded 10,000, and the overall sales of plug-in cars exceeded 20,000.

Looking at sales figures that are closer to retail sales, BYD DM-i model leads the way in plug-in hybrid models.

For years, BYD DM series plug-in hybrid cars have been the topic of conversation in the plug-in hybrid car segment, with acceleration performance of 0-100km/h in just 4.x seconds, surpassing many supercars.

But the relatively high-end price for DM models makes it difficult for ordinary consumers to afford them.

The advent of the DM-i models has changed this.

Based on ensuring the driving experience and excellent product power of DM’s previous models, the DM-i model’s retail price has been greatly reduced, with a minimum price of only 105,800 yuan, and fuel consumption as low as 3.8L/100km when it is running out of power. Consumers can afford it and enjoy the benefits of strong power and low fuel consumption, bringing them into the homes of ordinary people.

With the price falling, consumers will naturally pay for the DM-i model. Both wholesale and retail terminal data show that the DM-i model is selling well.

It sells so well that BYD apologized to consumers.

The mass production of BYD DM-i has achieved double growth in word of mouth and sales of the DM car series, and once again verified the market competitiveness of BYD, where technology is king.

DM-i: Technology that can replace fuel vehicles

The mission of BYD DM-i model is to replace fuel vehicles.
But facing the century-old history of fuel-powered vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles must be stronger than traditional fuel-powered cars in terms of energy supplement convenience, fuel efficiency, and power, to even discuss replacing them.
DM-i vehicle model precisely has benefits in these areas.

Firstly, the DM-i vehicle model is both petrol and electric, and it can also discharge electricity.
When driving in cities, the DM-i vehicle model can run on pure electric mode, achieving zero-carbon journeys. Moreover, it has minimal noise and gentle acceleration during driving, making it a much better experience than traditional fuel-powered cars. During long-distance travel on highways, it can use petrol or charge via a DC charger. When in high-speed conditions, the DM-i engine kicks in during the most efficient range, allowing for ultra-low oil consumption.

In rural mountain areas far from cities where the electric grid is unavailable or there is a power outage, the DM-i vehicle model can discharge electricity externally to provide a 220V AC power source for the driver to use.

Secondly, under the petrol and electric options, the DM-i vehicle model has lower fuel consumption than hybrid cars and surpasses the acceleration capability of 2.0T fuel-powered cars.

Without charging, the Qin PLUS DM-i vehicle model can achieve a fuel consumption level of 3.8L/100km. If consumers have charging facilities, they can charge, not refuel during their daily commutes to further lower costs. In several media tests, the Qin PLUS DM-i vehicle model achieved an ultra-low fuel consumption of 2.6L/100km, which was substantially lower than the fuel consumption level of Japanese hybrid cars at 4.5-5.5L/100km.

Lastly, it is commendable that the BYD DM-i vehicle model does not compromise acceleration capability even when fuel consumption has considerably reduced or is even improved. DM-i still has significant performance superiority when facing on the same level of hybrid cars or turbocharged fuel-powered cars.

In terms of fuel efficiency and power, cars are often faced with the dilemma of having either one or the other; it is challenging to have both. However, the BYD DM-i car model can achieve both, so how does it do it?

The answer is three high-tech innovations: Xiaoyun – Plug-in Hybrid Specialized 1.5L Efficient Engine, EHS Hybrid System, and DM-i Super Hybrid Power Sharpened Blade Battery.

Xiaoyun engine is the first engine specifically designed for plug-in hybrid models. It uses the Atkinson combustion cycle with a high compression ratio of up to 15.5 and a combustion thermal efficiency reaching 43.03%.

EHS hybrid system is responsible for adjusting the power output ratio between the engine and the electric motor under different working conditions, using more electricity at low speeds and more oil at high speeds to fully utilize their efficient power ranges.

The power-sharpened blade battery is a lithium iron phosphate battery developed specifically for plug-in vehicles based on a highly secure blade battery, with a higher charging and discharging rate.

These three high-tech innovations have helped BYD DM-i models gain a competitive advantage over traditional fuel vehicles. However, these advantages are not yet enough for DM-i to replace conventional fuel vehicles.

In the mobile phone field, Nokia, the 2G dominator, failed to replace Motorola, the 1G dictator, with superior product quality and network signals. Apple, on the other hand, completely replaced Nokia and Motorola in the 4G era with its value-added advantage of smartphones.

Does DM-i have a value-added advantage?

Smooth and Quiet, Tax-free and Unlimited Purchase

DM-i has more than one value-added advantage.

The first is the smooth and quiet driving experience of DM-i models. In daily driving, the pure electric drive of DM-i models accounts for more than 90%. Therefore, driving DM-i models in cities can provide a driving experience similar to that of pure electric vehicles, with fast and smooth acceleration, quick power response, light steering, and excellent noise control.

When driving at high speeds, thanks to the tuning of the EHS hybrid system and the optimization of the NVH performance of the Xiaoyun engine, when cruising at 120km/h, the engine speed of DM-i models is lower than that of comparable fuel vehicles, and their advantage in quietness is obvious.

The second is that DM-i models have green plates, which saves money when buying a car.

The green license plate is a special license plate for gradient green new energy vehicles, and DM-i models hold this type of license plate. The advantages of green plates include not being restricted to driving and purchasing (except in Beijing) and not needing to pay a vehicle purchase tax. These two benefits can save consumers in restricted cities up to 100,000 yuan in vehicle costs.

DM-i models with green plates only require consumers to pay insurance fees in addition to the car price without additional license plate indicators or vehicle purchase taxes. Taking the Qin PLUS DM-i model with a starting price of 105,800 yuan as an example, consumers only need less than 110,000 yuan to drive the car home.

This type of car was “planted” in the minds of many potential consumers through earlier corporate promotion and media introductions. Early consumer feedback has “attracted” more followers, resulting in BYD DM-i accumulating a large number of orders, and early delivery was difficult due to high demand.The good news is that the assembly line for 500,000 units of BYD EHS hybrid system will be put into operation in Taiyuan in the summer of this year. BYD also announced that the delivery difficulty of DM-i will be alleviated from this summer. By then, the sales of BYD DM-i will climb faster, accelerating the replacement of traditional fuel vehicles.

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.