New BYD Yuan EV500 will go further, up to 500 km (310 miles)

BYD Yuan is a huge success in China as more than 40,000 orders were placed by the end of October and BYD sold 21,490 during the first five months (including record 5,803 in October) on the market.

The current Yuan EV360 is rated for 360 km (224 miles) of range at speed of 60 km/h (37 mph). The more realistic rating is 305 km (190 miles) on a 42 kWh liquid-cooled battery. The car is pretty affordable at around $25,000 and offers two permanent magnet synchronous motor options:

70 kW and 180 Nm

160 kW and 360 Nm (0-50 km/h or 31 mph in 3.9 seconds)

According to the latest news from China, BYD is already working on a new version Yuan EV500, which will be good for up to 500 km (310 miles). The 39% higher range probably means that the battery capacity was increased by about the same 39% to almost 60 kWh. Higher range should help to get even more subsidies per car as China prefers longer range EVs.

Another upgrade is the motor output to 120 kW (we believe in base version). First images of the EV500 shows that the exterior look will be only tweaked, without major changes.

Here is EV360 video, while the images of EV500 can be seen here.

Source: autonews.gasgoo.com