Wait, wait wait....BYD wha??

[Erleichda]

So...BYD has the E6 in the USA NOW for fleets, and built itself on fleet/bus instead of luxury like Tesla. (and their bus can go 750 miles...) And it's battery matches specs in 2016 of pano/Tesla. And prices/range about to collide in 2017. And Warren Buffet...Buffet is their recent big investor. He of Elon battles in NV energy fame?? And now Samsung is aligning with BYD, and building a gigafactory?? And their stock has been like 6 bucks??

This deserves front page news

EDIT: Moved to non-tesla EV Forum. Can't find how to delete!

 

[BaileyDog12]

Does anyone here actively keep on top of the Chinese market competitors? We'll all attuned to MBZ and BMW etc but I haven' seen much coverage towards Chinese competitors like BYD and WM Motors and its progeny.

 

[S'toon]

As far as I can tell from reading online, BYD cars are mediocre, but their buses seem to be better.

 

[Red Sage]

OK. Let's take a look...

The BYD E6 supposedly has an 80 kWh battery pack and a 250+ mile range per their website. Yet its EPA range rating is only 187 miles. Oh, and it is only offered via fleet sales, not for public consumption.

Here is how it compares directly with the Tesla Model S 70 per the EPA.

 

[Alketi]

BYD is massively ramping their battery manufacturing. I believe they're 3rd in the world right now, and have their own gigafactories either planned or under construction.

I think the reality is that in 10 years, the low-end cars will likely be Chinese. These will be the $20K 200 mile EVs. And, that other automakers will likely be using Chinese batteries in their own efforts.

It makes sense why Tesla (via the Master Plan part 2) is choosing to NOT play in the low-end.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

BYD is massively ramping their battery manufacturing. I believe they're 3rd in the world right now, and have their own gigafactories either planned or under construction.

I think the reality is that in 10 years, the low-end cars will likely be Chinese. These will be the $20K 200 mile EVs. And, that other automakers will likely be using Chinese batteries in their own efforts.

It makes sense why Tesla (via the Master Plan part 2) is choosing to NOT play in the low-end.

Low end is the Tesla Minibus.

Any company that believes that autonomous vehicles will happen soon should only be going after the low end in ride-sharing systems. Autonomous vehicles would change transportation fundamentally, by allowing doorstep-to-doorstep travel in hired vehicles at a lower cost, removing one of the key drivers for ownership. In doing so, it would destroy the low-end market.

Uber's already trialing ride sharing the uses routing algorithms. Now imagine what a fleet of autonomous vehicles would do for ride-sharing: you make a trip from a city to a rural area; your journey starts along a highway along with other people, and the vehicle drops you off apparently in the middle of nowhere, where a local autocab is waiting for you.

 

[Alketi]

Low end is the Tesla Minibus.

It remains to be seen how much time a door-to-door Minibus adds to someones travels, but I imagine the Minibus will likely be a more city-centric model, not for the suburbs. There'll still be a market for $20-25K cars for people want the freedom to occasionally travel longer distances and/or on their own timeframe without any wait.

 

[Red Sage]

Blade Runner – MetroKab

Blade Runner – Another Cab

Blade Runner – Syd Mead Design 1

Blade Runner – Syd Mead Design 2

Total Recall – Johnnycab

Robocab...?

Back to the Future – DS Luxor Cab

Back to the Future – NYC Taxi

The Fifth Element – B90 Cab

Pulp Fiction – Boxer Cab

Taxi Driver – Just Because

 

[Petra]

BYD builds busses out in the Lancaster/Palmdale area of CA--I've seen their busses driving around being tested. Only seen a couple E6s around town with, as I recall, manufacturer's plates.

 

[david_42]

There are three aspects of the e6 that I find appealing: first, it's basically a hatchback, I have zero interest in a sedan; second, BYD hasn't crammed all of the controls into a touch screen; finally, no gimmick doors. It's difficult to believe the falcon doors won't be a continuing source of both production and maintenance problems.

On the downside, it's underpowered and the Chinese have a history of not delivering what they say they can.

 

[PaulusdB]

And for those interested, the e6 has vehicle-to-grid capability.