The E6 is coming

[Desertstraw]

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/with-help-from-hertz-byd-e6-makes-inroads-in-javits-and-shenzhen/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

According to Mr. Austin, Shenzhen will have approximately 500 E6 taxis on the streets, and is converting its entire bus fleet of 1,600 vehicles to plug-in electrics made by BYD. Electric-car buyers are eligible for two free Level II chargers, installed near home and work by the local utility, which offers low nighttime charging rates. The city has more than 100 D.C. fast-charging stations, also made by BYD. The E6, with a large 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack that yields more than 185 miles of range, can be fully charged at those stations in half an hour.

 

[coqui]

Interesting...isn't BYD a company that Buffet is involved in?

 

[EdmondLeaf]

With weather like today (rain and strong wind) and no charging at destination I will be very happy with more miles. Wonder if sold in USA what will be price, in China net is $40K.

 

[Adrian]

Was the E6 on display in LA this weekend? Did anyone drive it?

 

[Boomer23]

I drove the BYD E6 today at EVS 26 in Los Angeles.

The car is a medium sized CUV or tall wagon. We were told that the battery capacity is an amazing 60 kWh :!: and the range is either 167 or 187 miles, depending on which specs you believe. We were told that in the US, the car is entering fleet use this summer, with plans to offer cars to the public in two years (2014 perhaps). The representative mentioned that BYD would like to have about three different models available at US launch, including at least one PHEV.

The driving experience was leisurely and the car had no real pickup. There is a fleet of these cars doing taxi duty in Shenzhen, China, and having driven the car, I would say that it is well suited to taxi fleet use. It is roomy inside, both in front and in the rear, and luggage space behind the seats looked large.

The car had an unusual feature, a camera mounted on the right side view mirror, facing forward toward the front wheel. The camera image was displayed on the center dash display. We were told that this was to eliminate a blind spot. I was confused at first, since the best known blind spot on most cars is to the right rear of the car. But this camera would help in parking the car and it would be easier to judge the car's position in close quarters, as well as to see children and pets near the car's right front area. Interesting.

The car has a standard J1772 connector, but the quick charge port located adjacent to the J port is a Chinese standard. Since the car is not intended to be sold to the public for two years, the decision on the final QC connector can wait.

 

[Boomer23]

Charging ports. The QC port is a Chinese standard.

 

[TomT]

I, too, saw and drove the car today. I tried to find out some more about the battery from a BYD engineer who was in the booth when I visited and there were some language problems, but he claimed that the battery technology is very different from the Leaf or Volt. He kept trying to describe it as more of a capacitor then a battery but that may have, again, been the language problem... He WAS adamant that it was not at all like any of the current EVs however... I was told 185 miles and a 15 minute QC.

I drove the BYD E6 today at EVS 26 in Los Angeles. The car is a medium sized SUV or tall wagon. We were told that the battery capacity is an amazing 60 kWh :!: and the range is either 167 or 187 miles, depending on which specs you believe.

 

[KeiJidosha]

Was the E6 on display in LA this weekend? Did anyone drive it?

There were two. One on static display in the hall and one for test drive. It's a good looking roomy crossover. Seems comparable to RAV4 in size. when I drove, there were 5 of us in the car. A bit more leisurely acceleration than the LEAF and I had a harder time getting smooth stops from B pedal regen on the short city street only test drive. Finish quality looked good with no rattles from construction battered pavement. BYD rep claimed 180 mile range from e6 fleet in taxi service. It has a ~10kW on board charger and DC port for fast charge (not CHAdeMO), but expect a US standard plug for production. No firm price, but something in $40k sounded likely. Current US plan is to sell to fleet buyers first. Hertz is supposed to get some for Los Angeles rental fleet in late summer. If available today I think it could find a lot of buyers.

 

[TEG]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_e6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...BYD’s "Fe" lithium iron phosphate battery, which powers the e6, represents one of the company’s core technologies. All chemical substances used in the battery can be recycled. There are four different power combinations for the e6: 101 hp (75 kW), 101+54 hp (75+40 kW), 215 hp (160 kW) and 215+54 hp (160+40 kW)...

 

[TomT]

Yep!

Interesting...isn't BYD a company that Buffet is involved in?

 

[Herm]

60kWh of LiFePO4 batteries is going to be very heavy, perhaps up to 1300lbs.

 

[baronvonshush]

The car had an unusual feature, a camera mounted on the right side view mirror, facing forward toward the front wheel. The camera image was displayed on the center dash display. We were told that this was to eliminate a blind spot. I was confused at first, since the best known blind spot on most cars is to the right rear of the car. But this camera would help in parking the car and it would be easier to judge the car's position in close quarters, as well as to see children and pets near the car's right front area. Interesting.

Yes, very interesting! We didn't drive the E6 yesterday, so I didn't know about this feature. I've been wanting one for my LEAF ever since getting it. I'd MUCH rather have this camera than the backup camera, but that's mostly due to my current situation. I park on the right side of the garage, but essentially come in from the left side of the driveway because our third vehicle (4Runner) is parked down at the end of the driveway on the right. So I drive up the left side of the driveway, take a hard right past the 4Runner, and then hard left into the garage as close as I can get to the right edge. The maneuver is doable thanks to the LEAF's short length and small turning radius, but boy, a side mirror camera would make me a whole lot less nervous about scraping the right side one of these days.

 

[TomT]

Curb weight is given as 4453 pounds.

60kWh of LiFePO4 batteries is going to be very heavy, perhaps up to 1300lbs.

 

[aqn]

60kWh of LiFePO4 batteries is going to be very heavy, perhaps up to 1300lbs.

I can easily believe that: the e6's curb weight is 4,453 lbs, according to wikipedia (no references).

 

[Herm]

At that weight the glide should be awesome once you got up to speed.

 

[cwerdna]

It seems the posts at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=201350#p201350" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; have gone ignored...

I didn't see this posted yet, fire and three people died in BYD e6 taxi fire:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4758882...ed-byd-slumps-after-crash-china/#.T8UDc1I2cdQ

Modified, perhaps a more balanced report saying that the taxi was hit from behind by a vehicle traveling 180 kph or 112 mph:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/b...t-electric-taxi-fire.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

I'm surprised there haven't been replies to this either. I was thinking of starting a separate thread for this since this has nothing to do w/the Volt.

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/05/28/byd-e6-taxi-catches-fire-in-china-after-crash-caused-by-drunk-ni/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has a video. http://jalopnik.com/5913798/electric-taxi-explodes-in-china" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; has another report and video. Unfortunately, my Mandarin comprehension is very poor. I understand more of the 2nd video than the 1st. The witness in the 2nd video is using a lot simpler vocabulary than the newscaster.

I first learned of this thanks to the Flipboard iPad app the other day, not Reddy's post.

 

[TomT]

Perhaps because there is not a lot more to be said on the subject with what is currently known... It was a bad accident and little more than that.

It seems the posts at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=201350#p201350" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; have gone ignored...

 

[cwerdna]

Perhaps because there is not a lot more to be said on the subject with what is currently known... It was a bad accident and little more than that.

It seems the posts at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=201350#p201350" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; have gone ignored...

Herm (probably the same Herm as we have here) made some comments at http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/05/burning-byd-ev-gets-frosty-reception/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

 

[Nekota]

The car had an unusual feature, a camera mounted on the right side view mirror, facing forward toward the front wheel. The camera image was displayed on the center dash display. We were told that this was to eliminate a blind spot. I was confused at first, since the best known blind spot on most cars is to the right rear of the car. But this camera would help in parking the car and it would be easier to judge the car's position in close quarters, as well as to see children and pets near the car's right front area. Interesting.

Yes, very interesting! We didn't drive the E6 yesterday, so I didn't know about this feature. I've been wanting one for my LEAF ever since getting it. I'd MUCH rather have this camera than the backup camera, but that's mostly due to my current situation. I park on the right side of the garage, but essentially come in from the left side of the driveway because our third vehicle (4Runner) is parked down at the end of the driveway on the right. So I drive up the left side of the driveway, take a hard right past the 4Runner, and then hard left into the garage as close as I can get to the right edge. The maneuver is doable thanks to the LEAF's short length and small turning radius, but boy, a side mirror camera would make me a whole lot less nervous about scraping the right side one of these days.

Tennis balls hanging by strings make effective guides.

 

[LEAFfan]

After that collision and fire, BYD is now saying the E6 may not come to the USA.