BYD seal, road test. The most specific challenge Tesla Model 3 | Video 02 September 2023 15

The BYD Seal is a Chinese weapon for conquering the world of electric vehicles and it is immediately clear that this is the enemy of the Tesla Model 3. D-segment sedan, streamlined shapes, a claimed WLTP range of up to 570 kilometers and an acceleration of 3.8. seconds for 0-100 km/h.

• BYD printing technique
• Blade Battery: Engineering and Chemistry
• Engines and refueling
• Prices and standard equipment
• video

The technology is very interesting: the e-Platform 3.0 platform, an 8-in-1 power unit that combines all electronics in one “engine block”, and a cobalt-free Blade Battery. It is also the first model to use the Cell-to-Body system, which means that the battery is built into the vehicle’s structure to reduce overall dimensions.

This aspect requires further study, since the underbody of the car is created using battery components to ensure its rigidity and weight balance: the battery pack (made of aluminum) has a honeycomb structure that becomes a central element in the dynamics of the drives and the weight distribution is ideal, 50:50 between front and backwith a very low center of gravity. To complete the mechanical part, we then find rear multi-link five-link and double gear steering.

Moving on to the engine, here we find the great influence of Tesla, who first developed the concept of “integration”. BYD took this inspiration and created a transmission that integrates all the elements: vehicle control unit, BMU (deals with battery and cell management), engine control unit, DC controller, on-board charger, engine itself and transmission.

Also, again following Tesla’s lead, here is an efficient heat pump that operates from -30° to +60° and uses a circuit that integrates all the cooling needs of the car (interior, engine, electronics, battery) to optimize thermal exchange and reduce waste.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR BYD SEALS

• Motor: rear permanent magnet synchronous motor. On all-wheel drive, the front motor is asynchronous.
• Power: 230 kW/313 hp and 360 Nm (rear-wheel drive) – 390 kW (530 hp) and 670 Nm (all-wheel drive)
• 0-100km/h: 5.9s (rear-wheel drive), 3.8s (all-wheel drive)
• Max speed: 180 km/h
• drums: 82.5 kWh LFP “Knife Battery”
• Front suspension: independent, two-handed
• Rear suspension: independent, multi-link, five-link
• turning radius: 5.7 meters
• Tires: 235/45 R19
• brakes: ventilated discs
• empty weight: 1750 kg
• Luggage compartment min/max: 400 liters
• Franc (front trunk): 53 liters
• Length: 4800 mm
• Length: 1875 mm
• Height: 1460 mm
• Step: 2920 mm
• CD: 0.219
• Reload: AC 11kW, DC 150kW
• Heat pump: yes, standard
• Vehicle to load? Yes, power 3 kW
• Claimed range (WLTP): 570 km (rear-wheel drive) – 520 km (all-wheel drive)
• Claimed Consumption (WLTP): 16.6 kWh/100 km (combined, rear-wheel drive) – 18.2 kWh/100 km (combined, all-wheel drive)

We’ve talked about the Blade Battery before: it’s BYD’s flagship, the performance of the car can hardly be underestimated, given that it is very thin, withstands drilling tests well, uses a design with 172 cells that visually create “blades” (these are thin rectangular parallelepipeds) e chemistry is LFPa mixture of lithium iron phosphate for the cathode.

BYD is not the only company using LFP, mind you, their strength lies in the fact that they have been making batteries for decades and have developed a very thin battery pack using this chemistry.

But what are the benefits of LFP batteries? First of all, they do without cobalt as a cathode material, it is expensive and its extraction is often associated with situations in which workers are exposed to exploitation. Then they are more stable: they tolerate heat better extreme without reducing the risk of thermal runaway (or thermal runaway, or thermal drift, from the English. “Thermal Escape”).

This is a situation in which an increase in temperature causes a further uncontrolled and uncontrolled increase, up to the risk of an explosion. For this reason, EV manufacturers want to avoid this at all costs, and they do so with cooling solutions that run on both hardware that avoids short circuits, passively cools by minimizing heat retention or physically “unplugging” elements, and software. , which takes care of the intervention well in advance of the possible occurrence of the event, and this happens on both the NMC and the LFP.

The advantage of LFPs, which are also used by e.g. Tesla in this range (where we also find NMCs), is that they withstand charge and discharge cycles better without losing capacity over time, are less sensitive to temperature fluctuations and, as already It is said that they tolerate heat more.

Separate elements, long and thin, also perform a structural function, since they replace the reinforcing bars that existed in older generation batteries. Many manufacturers still use this scheme (cells assembled into modules, modules inserted into a battery pack, and jumpers crossing the battery for reinforcement), but Tesla, CATL and BYD went even further, delegating the reinforcement function to the elements that make up the battery itself. battery each with different solutions.

The EV market has become addicted to extreme power, and it is hoped that good “normal” power vehicles will soon be available to cut costs. However, it is clear that, as a debutant in Europe, BYD has chosen a big-numbers strategy with Seal, no different from what Tesla has done and what many other Western or Korean manufacturers have done. On the other hand, we’re talking about a D-segment sedan that also needs more power to justify the cost, unlike the C-segment, where BYD has a crossover with more road and less extreme power.

• single-engine, rear-wheel drive: 313 hp, 230 kW and 360 Nm, acceleration to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds, range 570 km
• dual motor, all-wheel drive: 530 hp, 390 kW and 670 Nm, acceleration to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, range 520 km

Both versions limited to a maximum speed of 180 km/h.both are equipped with an 11 kW AC three-phase charger and support DC fast charging. up to 150 kW maximum (30-80% in 26 minutes, 10-80% in 37 minutes).

In the all-wheel drive version, a 160 kW asynchronous motor is added to the 230 kW rear-wheel drive permanent magnet synchronous motor.

Battery 82.5 kWh. in both Design (rear-wheel drive, weight 2,055 kg) and Excellence-AWD (all-wheel drive, weight 2,185 kg) versions. With Vehicle-to-Load, the power output is 3kW, and the car essentially becomes a 3kW power source for other vehicles/devices.

The strategy chosen by BYD Seal is completely standard: no hardware difference between the single-engine version (Design) and the twin-engine version (Excellence-AWD).

Both have it all: a panoramic roof, 19-inch wheels, full LED lights, automatic high beams, light and rain sensors, sport seats (power, ventilated and heated front), 60W USB C sockets and 18W USB A sockets. Tue, 10.25. “instrument display, wireless charging (2 x 15 W), automatic dual-zone climate control, heat pump, 360° camera, all ADAS level 2 (including adaptive cruise control and lane keeping), remote control app, keyless, 15.6″ rotating screen infotainment system, OTA updates, 4G SIM, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

What about help? BYD plans to open 500 service centers in Europe in 2024, because it knows very well that the critical problem that has led many to abandon Chinese cars is precisely the network of workshops that can solve any problems (or provide assistance and spare parts in the event of an accident). These are promises, obviously we will have to see how the coverage program for Europe and, above all, for Italy actually progresses.

BYD Seal will hit the market in the fourth quarter of 2023. Delivery from November. the first customers who ordered it. There guarantee is 6 years for the vehicle and 8 years for the battery and electric motor, prices not yet announced. Price will be reported during IAA 2023 in a few days, one attack number is listed for now less than 50,000 euros.