BYD Song Plus EV is the affordable alternative to the Tesla Model Y
You may already noticed that recently BYD has been focused on modernizing its electric cars by making them closer to the BYD Han EV, in technology and looks.
Now, almost every new electric car from BYD shares the same cobalt-free Blade Battery technology and a new sleeker front that debuted with the Han EV. The Han EV was the first electric car from BYD that actually looked modern and premium…
With this recent modernization BYD wants to offer some affordable alternatives to Tesla. While, the BYD Han EV competes with both the Model S and 3, the new BYD Song Plus EV aims to be a great alternative to the Model Y.
While in Europe the Tesla Model Y offers a WLTP range of 505 km for around 60.000 euros, in China the new BYD Song Plus EV offers a NEDC range of 505 km – which is around 380 km in WLTP – for just 186.000 yuan (23.768 euros) before subsidies and 169.800 yuan (21.713 euros) after subsidies.
The price suggests that the new BYD Song Plus EV is a very basic electric car, but it’s not. This is a modern electric car full with technology and safety features.
New BYD Song Plus EV interior
Compared to the Tesla Model Y, the new BYD Song Plus EV is only slightly smaller.
Let’s see some specs.
- Length: 4.705 mm (Tesla Model Y is 4.750 mm)
- Wheelbase: 2.765 mm (Tesla Model Y is 2.891 mm)
- Width: 1.890 mm (Tesla Model Y is 1.920 mm)
- Height: 1.680 mm (Tesla Model Y is 1.623 mm)
- Motor: 135 kW and 280 Nm in peak torque
- Range: 505 km under the NEDC test cycle (around 380 km in WLTP)
- Battery capacity: 71,7 kWh
- Battery type: BYD Blade Battery (LFP in CTP format)
- Fast charge time: 74 minutes and 30 minutes from 30 to 80 %
- Fast charging rate: 90 kW
- Starting price: 186.000 yuan (23.768 euros) before subsidies and 169.800 yuan (21.713 euros) after subsidies
With this model, you get an electric car that is slower and takes longer to charge than a Tesla, but it’s also much more affordable.
Anyway, unfortunately for us BYD’s domestic market is huge and it’ll take some time before this automaker satisfies all the demand there is in China, before starting exportation in big numbers. The good news is that BYD produces its own cobalt-free battery cells, therefore it can increase production much quicker than most automakers…
What do you think? If sold for around 30.000 euros in Europe would it be successful? Or its size makes it more suitable for other regions, such as North America and Australia?
More info:
http://www.bydauto.com.cn/auto/carShow.html-param=%E5%AE%8BPLUSEV
Pedro,
71,7 kWh usable or gross? Assuming usable, the range is a bit disappointing. Maybe BYD needs to work on aerodynamics and power train efficiency? SUV design causes range to suffer due to size, shape, height, etc. It looks like any Chevrolet, Buick, Honda, etc. SUV, so it should sell very well!
I assume it’s gross.
BYD Blade battery cell specs
Capacity: 202 Ah
Nominal voltage: 3,2 V
Max charging voltage: 3,65 V
Energy: 646,4 Wh
Probably this battery pack is in a 110s1p or 111s1p configuration.
Ideally I would like the BYD Song to grab market share from the ICE vehicles. Anyway, great effort from BYD with a product in affordable price.
Thanks for the post. BYD is in a very good position with regards to the performance – cost ratio, wide selection of personal & commercial models, and the extra margin of LIB cell safety. My view is BYD will need to build BEV assembly plant and a LIB cell factory in the European Union or partner in order to achieve mass sales in this region. BYD has the organization and some experience in setting up & operating foreign factories but lots of potential regional & global politics to contend with. As far as LIB cells offering good value, the only potential competition from Europe I am aware of is the manganese rich low nickel no cobalt cells under development for commercialization like the BASF NCM 307. Time will tell if and when Northvolt mass produces the high manganese lower cost cells and how these cells compare price & performance wise to the new generation LFP cells.
at these prices I think it would sell very well in Europe and NA, even adding a few thousand for importing costs. (I’m assuming you already did that with your estimate for 30K euros)
considering the number of Audi Q5s, RAV4s, and BMW X3s sold in Europe, I think there’s probably a big market there for it, even if it is larger. The ID.4 appears to be taking off there.
the only thing real impediment would be if it doesn’t come with a tow hitch option.
in Canada this would sell well, considering the model Y currently starts at $65,000 CAD, and the Song would probably start at < $45,000, making it eligible for the Canadian federal rebate of $5,000. Net would be $25,000 cheaper than a model Y, for what appears to be a very practical family vehicle.
the ID.4 is apparently starting at $44,995 here too, so it also gets the rebate.
The Chinese cars seem to cost very little in China, but when they are imported to Europe the price is sometimes doubled. For example Maxus Euniq, which started selling in Finland just a few months ago costs around 49 000€. In China the same car costs from 170 000 to 230 000 RBM (from 21 600€ to 29 300€). In Finland the EVs have very small car tax in Euniq’s case it is only 1300 euros. So that does not explain the price difference.
So I have stopped waiting for these super cheap Chinese electric cars. They will be almost the same price in Europe as European EVs and in that case I will prefer European brands.
It’s all about scale. The same thing happens in South America where BYD is already selling its electric cars, but with a huge price tag.
Chinese automakers will have to export a lot of units of each model to worth it, otherwise the exportation costs (homologation, shipping, after-sales service, sales network…) per unit become very high, like luxury cars.
This is the right pricing for a large-ish sized family SUV EV right now (will get even more affordable in the future). With 10% import tax and 20% VAT, it could be around €31,000, which is very competitive for the size (4.7 m length), specs and comfort level.
I’d like to see more vehicles on sale around the compact/mid size like the Kia Niro or MG ZS size, around 4.3 m long, (or even a bit smaller) which is about perfect for most families globally.
Also smaller sized vehicles like Tata Nexon (4.0 m) and Dacia Spring (3.7 m), the right size for smaller households and/or younger families.