Contrary to Other Automakers, BYD Launches Hybrid Car in Brazil After Several Years Selling Only Electric Vehicles

BYD Song Plus, First Hybrid Car from the Chinese Automaker, Is Now Available for Pre-Sale and Is the Cheapest Plug-In Hybrid in Brazil

BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer and main competitor to Tesla worldwide, is selling a hybrid car in Brazil. For those who don’t know, BYD’s focus is actually on 100% electric vehicles, but the company goes beyond that.

An example of this is the sale of photovoltaic panels at its dealerships, so that electric vehicle owners can generate their own energy to power their cars. In addition, the brand also produces buses, electric trucks, and batteries.

BYD has always worked with fully electric cars, but now, for the first time, it has introduced a hybrid car to the Brazilian market, while other manufacturers are doing the opposite. They are launching hybrids first and then moving on to fully electric vehicles.

Operating in Brazil since 2015, BYD has three factories in the country. The first, responsible for assembling fully electric buses, was inaugurated seven years ago and is located in Campinas (SP).

The second was also built in Campinas, for the manufacturing of solar panels. The third, which was built due to high demand for batteries for electric buses, is located in Manaus (AM) and opened in 2020. Its focus is on the manufacturing of lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO4).

The Chinese manufacturer has more plans in Brazilian territory. According to information from the website Seu Dinheiro, BYD is in negotiations with the government of Bahia to purchase the former Ford factory located in Camaçari.

BYD Has Launched the BYD Song Plus for Pre-Sale, the First Hybrid Car from the Automaker in Brazil, with a Suggested Price of R$ 269,990

Last November, it was BYD’s turn to present the plug-in hybrid SUV Song Plus DM-i, now available for pre-sale. Its suggested price is R$ 269,990, which is lower than other vehicles with the same technology, such as the Mini Countryman S E, Jeep Compass 4xe, and Caoa Chery Tiggo 8 Pro.

The BYD Song Plus, the first hybrid car from the automaker in Brazil, comes equipped with a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter engine that has a modest 110 horsepower. Its thermal efficiency is 43%, which means it can even be used to push the SUV in certain scenarios.

However, its main function is to generate energy that can be used to power the electric motor and recharge the batteries. Most of the time, the 180-horsepower electric motor with 32.3 kgfm is what moves the BYD Song Plus SUV.

BYD chose Eurobike to be its first dealership in order to facilitate the sale of the new models in this phase, including the hybrid model. The company’s goal is to have 25 points of sale owned by significant dealership groups by the end of this year. By the end of 2023, it is expected that more than 100 will have been authorized.