The 2021 BYD e6

Hello electric car lovers! In this channel I cover all the latest tech news surrounding electric cars.

I cover the background, feel and drive, the current selling price, and the specs and engineering that go into making each car. If you have an electric car that you’d like me to cover let me know in the comments below. In today's article, I’m reviewing The all-new BYD e6. I’ll be covering the most important features to see whether it stands against the competition or not. Oh, and one more thing before I start - Not sure if you heard the latest court case about the fully autonomous car that was involved in a horrific crash.. 

The supreme court decided to charge it with assault and battery

Okkaayyyy...  Now back to the article.

Background

BYD introduced the e6 in 2009 as an all-electric compact crossover/compact MPV. In May 2010, field testing for the first generation model began in Shenzhen, China, with 40 vehicles operating as taxis. 

Sales to the general public began in Shenzhen in October 2011, more than two years after the intended 2009 release date. A handful of e6 units were in fleet operation as taxis in China, Indonesia, Colombia, Belgium, the United States (New York and Chicago), the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom by September 2009; nevertheless, Australia will introduce the fleet in 2020. Through December 2016, China had sold 34,862 units since 2010. In 2016, the BYD e6 was the best-selling pure electric car in China, and it was awarded a gold medal at the Havana International Fair for "Best Quality Product."

Some commentators claim that the BYD e6 is a vision of the future. Chinese automakers are usually too preoccupied with serving their large home market to think about exports — but that is not the case with BYD.

It's China's sixth-largest automaker, and it sent 50 of its e6 all-electric hatchbacks to the UK, where it began the process of "polishing" them for the European market by targeting professional fleet clients and enlisting the expertise of experts like Ricardo and MIRA.

BYD said in 2009 that the e6 will be available in the United States in 2010 for slightly over US$40,000, with a deployment starting in Southern California and then expanding to numerous American cities. 

BYD revealed in October 2010 that it was postponing its ambitions, and US sales were pushed back to 2011. The company stated in December 2010 that it will supply up to 50 BYD e6 electric cars to fleet clients in Southern California by the end of 2011, including the Los Angeles city government. Before any government subsidies, BYD aims to sell the e6 model in the United States for $35,000. 

Passing US crash testing, which BYD intends to accomplish in 2011, will be one of the most difficult challenges. Sales were set to commence in the second quarter of 2012 as of August 2011. BYD, on the other hand, launched its headquarters in Los Angeles a year late and indicated that retail sales would be delayed for at least 18 months owing to a lack of charging infrastructure.

BYD has yet to bring a single all-electric car to the American consumer market and has repeatedly missed launch deadlines, prompting speculation about the labor-intensive process of cell production's ability to achieve the quality uniformity required for electric car batteries, according to some commentators.

The city of Los Angeles decided to buy ten e6 electric automobiles and lease another twenty in 2010. Five of BYD's K9 electric buses will be used in a test program, according to city authorities.

As of February 19, 2013, 11 BYD e6 units have arrived in the United States from China, and were on their way to BYD North America headquarters in Los Angeles. However, the fleet's mission has yet to be formally announced. BYD said in May 2013 that the e6 will be offered primarily to fleet customers in the United States, and that instead of making the car available to the general public, the firm would focus on electric bus sales in the region.

Around 25 BYD e6s were being deployed by Uber drivers in Chicago as part of a pilot program by March 2015. Drivers interested in the e6 have numerous alternatives from BYD's dealer in the city, including a regular lease or a lease-to-own scheme. 

The most popular option allows an Uber driver to lease an e6 for $200 per week and use it for one driving shift before returning it to a dealer lot to be paid until it is used again. According to BYD America Vice President, roughly 80 units have been imported to the United States as of February 2016, with about 50 of those being delivered to New York for car for hire firms.

Design and Engineering

The all-new BYD e6 is offered in a five-seater configuration that is both sleeker and more appealing. When compared to more notable models such as the Renault Scenic, it is more noticeable in terms of size. Compared to the seven-seat Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer, it has a major advantage in interior space.

The smooth headlamps and clean lines of the BYD e6 are, despite the fact that they are not very eye-catching, practically harmless. Indeed, even the flat backside is a significant advance over the predecessors.

LED headlights, for example, are a recent addition that has been conspicuously lacking. They would be substantially brighter than the incandescent lights used in the test unit, and, perhaps more importantly, they would consume significantly less energy. A Land Rover Freelander, the e6 is significantly smaller in size and has a comparable high driving position, as well as a similar degree of cabin luxury, with the exception that the e6's colors, materials, and surfaces will be unsuitable for European private purchasers.

Interior

The inside of the BYD e6 is noticeably more comfortable than that of previous models. In general, form quality is stated to be significantly enhanced, and the lodge appears to be far more expansive as well. Surprisingly, the most recent e6 has an analog instrument panel rather than a digital instrument panel.

Whatever the case, ergonomics is the most important consideration here. The new e6's instrument panel sits directly in front of the driver and is far more organized than the previous e6's instrument panel, which was somewhat disorganized towards the center of the dashboard.

Additionally, a level bottom-directing wheel, a clean mind-control area, and numerous storing points are all immaculate contacts. BYD put some thought into the client experience, and it shows in the final product. Among the areas in which an upgrade may be required is the Android-based infotainment framework. However, while it has Bluetooth capability, it does not have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, which are more consistent in their link with smartphones. As a result, in order to use Google Maps, you must pair it with your phone's wifi connection.

The e6's ability to start from a distance is, on the other hand, rather amazing. Activating the car and starting the cooling system is accomplished by pressing a button on the ignition switch. If you are used to parking outside, this is a convenient feature. Although it features a sophisticated, almost over complicated information panel positioned in the center of the dashboard, driving it is straightforward with a central drive selection and two pedals: go and stop. 

The most significant disadvantage — apart from the unfathomably high sticker price — is the vehicle's short and shallow boot, which makes it difficult to envisage four passengers' airport bags fitting inside it.

Performance

After hearing from US consumers about their preferred powertrains, BYD announced that the American version would be more powerful than the Chinese version. It will have a 60-kWh battery pack and 160-kW electric motor, and it will be capable of going from zero to sixty miles per hour (zero to 60 mph) in less than eight seconds.

The e6 may be configured in four distinct power configurations: (75 kilowatts) (160 kW). 

The majority (or at least a portion) of the e6 battery pack is positioned on the vehicle's belly pan. The two-motor variants employ front and rear motors to provide all-wheel drive for the vehicle.

The MPV's 75 kw electric engine generates a peak force of 180 NM and allows it to reach a top speed of 130 km/h, making it the fastest car on the road. The BYD e6 has incredible range, but you'll have to put up with its unpolished appearance as a trade-off for it. The electric engine, which provides 75 kw and 180 Nm of torque, is responsible for propelling 1930kg. That equates to more than two tons of travelers and their belongings.

The e6 is known for its calm and gentle tendencies. Although the electric powertrain is significantly slowed down when driving at high speeds, the ride quality is surprisingly decent according to test drivers. The BYD e6 is impervious to wooly surfaces and does so with ease.

Battery Life

The BYD e6 is powered by a 71.7 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery that provides a driving range of up to 323 miles per charge in city settings and a driving range of 257 miles per charge in general conditions, making it a more viable option for airport fleets and taxi service operators. 

The MPV comes equipped with a 7-kW charger as standard, and DC rapid energizing can quickly charge the battery from 30 percent to 80 percent of its capacity. Since the beginning of 2019, the car has been equipped with an 80-kWh battery. In terms of capacity, it's comparable to the 81-kWh battery that powered the first long-range version of the Tesla Model S. Since 2015, Tesla, on the other hand, has made even larger battery packs accessible.

According to the manufacturer, the range is 249 miles. The real range was judged by Singaporean reviewers to be 230 miles. In accordance with the manufacturer, the lithium iron phosphate battery of the vehicle may be charged at a fast charging station to 80 percent capacity in 15 minutes and to 100 percent capacity in 40 minutes.

German energy storage business Fenecon is attempting to rekindle interest in the automobile by serving as a distributor and also by making the vehicle accessible for testing to European automotive journalists. Nonetheless, Asia continues to be the most important market for the BYD e6.

Price and Model Range

BYD has not indicated when it will begin selling electric vehicles to private individuals, and the $48,000 price tag mentioned is considerably too high for what, according to your eyes, should be a vehicle that starts at roughly $28,000.

This wraps up my review of The BYD e6, let me know what you think of it.Thank you for sticking it out through to the very end of this article! Nothing helps out my channel more than y’all reading the entire article. These articles take a long time to make, and are a labor of love. If you would like to see my channel grow, please help spread the word and until next time, remember, the best experiences aren’t about where you end up, but who you’re lucky enough to be on the journey with.