BYD at the 2015 Shanghai Auto Show

The 2015 Shanghai Auto Show is marked by plug-ins, mostly concepts, but BYD surprised us with a whole lineup of plug-in cars.

There were eight BYD plug-in cars on display, including a few debuts. And besides a few stock photos from the event, we were also lucky to get a few exclusive shots of the cars direct from BYD!

"This week marked the kick-off of China's Annual International Auto Show & Convention, Auto China. BYD China's largest independent auto manufacturer impressed members of the media and industry alike by, for the first time, only displaying Electrified Vehicles in their entire line-up of 8 vehicles at the BYD Exhibit (5 dual-mode vehicles and 3 pure-electrics). Though not many were surprised that the green-tech giant was the first to make such a leap, as they have long been referred to as "China's Electric Car Company", the crowd was thrilled to see a Tier 1 auto company take this important step towards the future of zero-emission transportation solutions."

BYD Tang

BYD Tang

Lets start with the plug-in hybrids. Besides the already known BYD Tang, there were two new sports utility vehicles models Song and Yuan - all described by 5-4-2:

"-- Acceleration from 0-100Km/h in less than 5 seconds. -- Four (4)-wheel drive propulsion -- and finally a vehicle that consumes less than 2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers."

BYD Song is a compact SUV, while Yuan is a micro SUV. Both seem to be near ready for market launch.

"Song is a compact SUV named after the Song Dynasty (in which China found its unity and prospered to be the wealthiest nation on earth at that time)." "Yuan, a micro SUV named after the shortest, but most powerful Chinese dynasty – the Yuan Dynasty. Yuan is the third sports utility in BYD’s 5-4-2 lineup and will become the most powerful Micro SUV on the planet, accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds when it is launched in later 2015."

BYD Song

BYD Song

BYD Song

BYD Yuan

BYD Qin

The fourth plug-in hybrid displayed is BYD Qin - already the best selling plug-in car in China, and another new model the Shang. Shang is a van with BYD's 2nd generation Dual Mode PHEV drivetrain, which we believe means separate propulsion EV/ICE for the axles.

"the first of BYD’s 2nd generation Dual Mode PHEV “Dynasty Cars” and Shang, a plug-in hybrid van (the eTruck version of Shang on display was badged T3)."

Shang drivetrain without ICE becomes a pure electric and such a car will be available as the T3 all-electric truck. As we already know, BYD believes that plug-in hybrids will be sold to consumers, while electric cars are perfect for fleets.

BYD Qin Rally

BYD Shang

BYD Shang

BYD T3

BYD T3

BYD T3

BYD e6

Good old e6 was presented on the stage together with the new e5 all-electric sedan.

"For pure electric offerings, BYD displayed three battery electrics: the e6, a crossover utility vehicle, e5 a pure electric compact sedan and T3 a pure electric minivan."

It's expected that e5 will serve as taxi.

BYD announced that the company will offer not only cars and buses, but all kinds of industrial vehicles:

"In addition to discussing his consumer vehicle strategy, BYD Founder & Chairman Wang Chuanfu revealed BYD’s new industrial and consumer vehicle electrification strategy called 7+4. 7 stands for the 7 conventional vehicle fields BYD will focus on: Transit Buses, Coach Buses, Taxis, Logistics Vehicles, Construction Vehicles, Waste Management Vehicles and of course, Consumer Vehicles. 4 stands for the 4 specialized vehicle fields BYD will focus on: Warehouse Logistics Vehicles, Mining Utility Vehicles, Airport Utility Vehicles and Sea-port Utility Vehicles"

BYD e5 etaxi

BYD e5 etaxi

BYD e5

BYD e5

We are still awaiting more photos and details from BYD. Here we have some videos: