It looks like a case of “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” for Chinese vehicle manufacturer BYD, who has killed off plans for the production of a low-cost electric vehicle.
BYD Auto’s deputy general manager, Wang Jianjun, confirmed the F3e – originally shown at the 2006 Beijing Auto Show – would never make production due to a lack of support in the current Chinese climate.
China still faces significant challenges in establishing a viable EV charging infrastructure and it was decided that transitional products – like the BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid, launched in 2008 – were needed to create demand in the market.
BYD claimed the F3e was an incredibly advanced concept, with a range of more than 300km per charge, acceleration from 0-100km/h in 13.5 seconds and a top speed of more than 150km/h.
BYD said the iron-based battery could be recharged to 70 percent capacity within 10 minutes and would last a total of 2000 recharges, or around 600,000km.
In 2007, the F3e was scheduled to enter full-scale production within three years and come with a sub-150,000 yuan ($22,800) price tag, but all plans for the F3e have now been abandoned.
In related news, BYD recently signed a deal to provide 1000 all-electric K9 e-buses to the Hunan Government in China. The buses have a range of 305km per charge, can reach a top speed of 70km/h, can be fully recharged in six hours and 50 percent fast-charged in 30 minutes.
