BYD is one of the fastest-growing car companies in the world, specialising in new energy vehicles (NEVs) that include battery electric vehicles along with plug-in hybrids.
In the 2 years, the brand has launched multiple models in the passenger car industry, with some of the popular ones making it to the Australian market, including the Atto 3, the Dolphin and more recently the Seal.
Now, the brand is about to launch another battery electric model in its home market of China according to reports from cnevpost. This time round, it’s a sleek electric SUV which it calls the Song L. It will be available in five different variants, all of which have the BYD blade battery powering the vehicle.
With a starting price equating to $A40,360 or RMB 189,800, the Song L top-spec variant will get up to $A53,130 or RMB 249,800.
The single-motor variants produce either 150 or 230 kW of power. The 150 kW motor is likely to be similar to the motor used in the BYD Atto 3. Meanwhile, the 230 kW motor is also found in the Seal Premium model.
There is also a four-wheel-drive model which is expected to produce 380 kW and can propel the sleek electric SUV from 0-100 km/h in just 4.3 seconds. A top speed of 201 km/h is also possible with this variant’s drivetrain.
On the range front, the three-blade batteries on offer will deliver up to 550 km, 602 km and 662 km of CLTC range.
The four-wheel-drive version can expect up to 602 km of CLTC range. WLTP range is likely to be around the 550 km mark.
The architecture which underpins this new model is also shared with the BYD Seal. BYD calls it the e-platform 3.0 which covers vehicles of varying dimensions. The platform improves the overall rigidity of the vehicle’s structure when equipped with BYD’s blade battery pack.
Dimension-wise, it’s slightly longer than Australia’s most popular electric car, the Tesla Model Y. The Song L comes in at 4,840 mm in length which is 90 mm longer than the Model Y.
The Song L was unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this year alongside the BYD Seagull City EV. Since then, BYD has been working towards finalising the production requirements for this new model.
This new model from BYD has seen tremendous interest from customers with the company having received over 28,000 pre-orders in 7 weeks, since pre-sales began back on October 31.
BYD Song L is likely to be another success in the world’s biggest NEV market. It’s also likely to be heading to other markets as BYD continues to expand its exports globally.
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.