BYD, the world’s fastest-growing car company, is continuing an onslaught of new model launches new, with the latest being a mid-sized family SUV boasting the company’s 5-minute Flash Charging tech, a new Blade Battery, and more power.
This model will be called the Song Ultra EV in China, with prices starting at the equivalent of under $A32,000.
It will be able to charge from 10-70% in just 5 minutes using the company’s latest Flash Charging technology, unveiled earlier this month.
That’s made possible by the new Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery packs, which will retain the safety credentials of BYD’s Blade Battery tech while now incorporating charging speeds of up to 1,500 kW at the company’s Flash Charging sites, which are being deployed at a rapid pace.
BYD really wants its customers to use this Flash Charging tech in cars like this and is offering 1 year of free Flash Charging to initial customers with all compatible models.
With the Song Ultra EV, customer that pre-order the car can get an additional 6 months of free Flash Charging, bringing the total free period to 18 months.
This model comes in at a length of 4,850 mm, which is slightly larger than the Sealion 7 SUV, which has seen thousands of sales in Australia and was the second-best-selling EV in the country.
The new car features the same large 15.6-inch infotainment screen behind the steering wheel as many BYD owners have today.
A 50 W wireless phone charger is also seen in the centre console, and, like many of BYD’s latest cars, the inside now features the gear shifter relocated to the steering wheel.
Powering the new compact SUV is a single rear-mounted motor delivering 270 kW, which will deliver a top-speed of up to 210 km/h.
The single-motor powertrain is powered by BYD’s second-generation blade batteries, which come in capacities of 68.4 kWh and larger 82.7 kWh packs that feed the motor.
Range-wise, the Song Ultra EV will have an NEDC range of 605-710 km, likely over 500-580 km on the WLTP test cycle.
The latest-generation platform also allows for a 150 L frunk and a 730 L boot with seats up. This can be expanded to 1,659 litres with rear seats down.
There is also a fridge included with this SUV, which can also be used to keep things warm with a temperature setting of up to 50 C available.
Given the amount of tech featured in the SUV, which can also be equipped with LiDAR for an assisted driving system functionality. That would come from the DiPilot 300 ADAS system, which is powered by 27 sensors.
We look forward to seeing this model in person in China in the coming months, with some of this tech likely to be available in our local market in the future.
Given that this model’s starting price is lower than many SUVs available in the Chinese market and comes equipped with 18 months of free Flash Charging, which is quicker than filling up at a servo, it’s going to be quite a popular model that ICE drivers need to pay attention to.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.