BYD has just hit a major milestone. The Chinese carmaker rolled out the sixth million car, an SUV with a name that is next to impossible to pronounce, at its factory in Zhengzhou.
The new Fang Cheng Bao Leopard 5 is number six million. It is an off-roader set in motion by a plug-in hybrid powertrain. The model was good to go into the hands of its new owner on November 24. But the first example had been delivered to the first customer who ordered it a day before.
The manufacturer debuted the vehicle back in August and refers to the impossible-to-pronounce Fang Cheng Bao Leopard 5 as a "super hybrid hardcore SUV."
Underpinned by BYD’s Dual Mode Off-road (DMO) Super Hybrid System architecture, the model is equipped with a 31.8-kWh battery pack, which provides it with a range of up to 78 miles (125 kilometers), as per the CLTC testing procedure.
According to the same CLTC, the vehicle can drive as far as 746 miles (1,200 kilometers) before it needs to be plugged in again.
Photo: BYD
Two more models from Fang Cheng Bao will arrive in 2024, the Bao 3 and Bao 8, helping BYD speed up in the attempt to remain the world's most productive car manufacturer.
It is a record number, considering that no other manufacturer has produced that many electric cars yet. Tesla sits at little over 5 million units built so far.
BYD rolled out the latest million within three months. There were more than 3 million all-electric cars and almost 3 million plug-in hybrid vehicles that rolled off the production lines of the company’s plants. BYD is the world’s largest car manufacturer of plug-in hybrids and is now chasing after Tesla in the all-electric car segment.
The Chinese brand sells cars in 58 countries and regions worldwide. Over 200,000 units have been exported so far, with China still being the most important market, just as it is for many European carmakers as well. Furthermore, BYD’s electric public transport solutions currently operate in over 400 cities from more than 70 countries.
Almost 30 years ago, BYD had just founded the battery company. The auto division saw the light of day in 2003 and in 2008, they rolled out the first rechargeable vehicle.
In 2021, they ticked the one million new energy vehicles milestone. They hit 3 million in 2022 and reached 5 million nine months later. On November 24, three months after the fifth million, BYD marked 6 million NEVs.
The car giant BYD integrates brands such as Dynasty, Denza, Yangwang, and Ocean. Back in April 2022, the company decided to discontinue the production of internal combustion cars, focusing exclusively on electric, electric with range extenders, and plug-in hybrid models.
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