Chinese brand BYD brings a fleet of pure electric cars to London.

BYD, which is bringing its range of pure electric private hire vehicles to Europe, has teamed up with Thriev to provide 20 BYD e6 cars to the company’s emission-free London chauffeur-driven fleet within the next few weeks.

Last month, the Mayor of London announced that from 1 January 2018, all new taxis would have to be zero-emission capable in order to gain an operating licence. Today’s announcement means that the London private hire market is four years ahead of that development.

Thriev (www.thriev.com) offers low-cost, zero-emission, chauffeured cars to corporate and private users in London. The company is rolling out an electric car programme complete with its own rapid chargers, cars and state-of-the-art car/charger scheduling systems. Part of the deal with BYD is that Thriev will equip its facility at Edgware Road, west London, with BYD’s purpose-designed charging equipment, which allows fast charging of the e6 in just two hours.

Initially, the e6 fleet is being supplied on a lease arrangement, although both BYD and Thriev expect this to be the beginning of a long-term relationship that will go some way to fulfilling a joint BYD and Thriev vision of a ‘green city solution’ – the transitioning of key public and personal transport vehicles from petrol and diesel power to pure electric. In December, two fully-electric, full-size buses operated by Go-Ahead Group, entered service on two central Transport for London routes – part of a Europe-wide initiative to introduce emissions-free BYD buses to major city centre operations.

Both the e6 car and ebus from BYD share the same proven and reliable electric technology. They use BYD lithium iron Fe batteries, which have been proven in millions of miles of taxi and bus passenger-carrying service in China as well as many parts of the world.

Commenting on the agreement with Thriev, Isbrand Ho, BYD Europe’s Managing Director, said: “We have been looking at various options to bring our e6 and its proven emissions-free technology to London. We are convinced that in Thriev we have found the right partner to do this – we share many of the same objectives of providing safe, reliable and efficient green transport in cities”.

Arvind Vij, CEO and a co-founder of Thriev said: “We think that BYD’s e6 model meets our requirements to offer passenger comfort, good range and rapid charging. We share BYD’s desire to provide practical, zero-emission solutions and look forward to a long-term partnership.”

CHINA - BYD launches Qin model, with advanced hybrid and remote control technology

BYD has officially launched its Qin model in China, a new and high tech, performance-based hybrid car intended to target key world markets. European availability of a similar but probably renamed model is planned for early 2015.

The dual mode Qin can accelerate from 0 to 100kph (62 mph) in just 5.9 seconds and has a top speed of 185kph (115 mph) with a claimed overall fuel consumption of up to 1.6 L/100km (177mpg). The Qin can be driven in pure electric mode for up to 70km (44 miles), a distance which BYD research indicates will satisfy most daily travel needs and is believed to be by far the longest achieved by a PHEV (at least twice the range of competitor models). For long distance journeys the car uses its BYD 1.5TID petrol engine thus eliminating any ‘range anxiety’ associated with battery power vehicles.

When the first 100 Qin cars were put on sale on line in China, BYD set a record for new car sales anywhere. All 100 cars were snapped up by eager buyers in just two seconds – thought to be a record in the car industry. About 95,000 people had visited the BYD e-shopping mall, 6,000 actually registered and 23,405 were online when the sale began. An incredible 4,155 of them rushed to purchase the innovative new model from BYD.

The new car utilises the technology pioneered and fully proven in the original BYD F3DM model, of which many tens of thousands have been sold. As a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) the Qin can be recharged at any normal household socket. When power is low or there is an on-demand need for ultimate acceleration the HEV mode is activated; this can be programmed either automatically or manually. The Qin also generates electric recharging power during deceleration – either by means of engine braking or via the foot brake – typically contributing 2.5 to 3 kWh every 100km (62 miles).

The Qin offers four fully matched driving functions – EV+ECO, EV+SPORT, HEV+ECO and HEV+SPORT modes. These can be selected by the driver, commanding the appropriate blend of economy and performance for any driving condition.

All models in the Qin family feature a 12.1-inch TFT instrument panel, smart key system and BYD’s unique remote driving facility, which allows the car to be manoeuvred remotely at very low speed from the outside of the vehicle where permissible.

Standard safety features include Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), Electric Park Brake, ISO-FIX mounting points for child safety seats, Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), Control Deceleration Parking and 12 air bags.

The Qin family includes advanced internet connectivity encompassing a Cloud-based services system, currently available only in China, which brings together the intelligence technology and interactive experiences into one driver-friendly control unit.

The BYD Qin, spearheading a range of BYD petrol, hybrid and pure electric cars for the consumer market, is expected to be launched in Europe in early 2015. Initial prices in China prior to any EV subsidies range from €23,725 to €26,225 (£19,645 to £21,715).