BYD releases 5th-generation DM hybrid technology with 2,100-km range

SHENZHEN -- Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) giant BYD has released its fifth-generation DM (dual mode) hybrid technology for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with a comprehensive driving range of 2,100 kilometers.

With the technology, BYD's plug-in hybrid vehicles can lead globally in a series of key indicators, achieving a thermal efficiency of 46.06 percent, a fuel consumption of 2.9 liters per 100 kilometers even when in an electricity-deficit state, and a comprehensive range of 2,100 kilometers, BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu said at a launch event in Xi'an, the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on Tuesday night.

The driving range was established based on vehicles with a fully charged battery and a full tank of petrol. The vehicles equipped with the technology run mainly on high-capacity power batteries.

At the event, BYD also unveiled two car models powered by the new technology, the Qin L DM-i and the Seal 06 DM-i, which use only a third of the fuel consumed by traditional cars and triple the range. Prices range from 99,800 yuan ($14,000) to 139,800 yuan.

Wang said that BYD is confident in leading the global development of plug-in hybrid technology and promoting the green transformation of the global auto industry.

The Shenzhen-based carmaker has sold a cumulative total of more than 3.6 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

In the first four months of 2024, China's production and sales of new energy vehicles climbed to 2.985 million and 2.94 million units, respectively, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Those figures represent respective year-on-year growth of 30.3 percent and 32.3 percent, the association said.