BYD Co., China’s largest electrified-vehicle maker, is set to launch a significantly upgraded Han flagship electric sedan in June.
The electric compact car, equipped with BYD’s latest redesigned lithium iron phosphate batteries, will have a cruising range of 605 kilometers and can accelerate to 100 km in 3.9 seconds, the company said.
The new design allows singular battery cells to be arranged in an array shaped like a blade and inserted into a pack.
With the optimized layout, the battery pack can increase space utilization by more than 50 percent compared with conventional block-shaped lithium iron phosphate batteries.
BYD also released a video using so-called nail penetration tests to demonstrate that the redesigned batteries, dubbed Blade Batteries, are much safer to use than conventional lithium iron phosphate batteries and ternary lithium batteries.
BYD, based in Shenzhen, is listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is partly owned by U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett.
With sales disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, BYD delivered 30,674 vehicles in the first two months of the year. The tally breaks down to 9,936 full-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids as well as 20,738 gasoline vehicles.
Last month, the company incorporated a 345 million yuan ($48.6 million) joint venture in Shenzhen with Toyota Motor Corp. The 50-50 partnership will develop EVs and market them under the Toyota brand in China.
In 2019, BYD delivered 229,506 EVs and plug-in hybrids as well as 231,893 gasoline cars globally.