General Motors’ star isn’t quite as high as it used to be, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Detroit-based company has been the largest in the industry for the last 76 years. In fact, during its time at the top, General Motors was actually once the biggest corporation in the world. But, despite all that clout, China’s BYD is claiming to have beaten the auto giant to the punch on a mass-produced plug-in hybrid.
GM’s Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid is still on track for a late 2010 launch, putting it on pace to be the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid. However, China’s upstart BYD is claiming that it has beaten the Volt to market with its own plug-in hybrid by two years.
At a recent event in southern China, BYD unveiled the F3DM, a production vehicle it claims to be the first plug-in hybrid. According to BYD, the F3DM can travel up to 62 miles on pure electric power before needing to resort back to its gas engine. A full charge takes about 9 hours on a standard outlet, or much faster on BYD’s own charging infrastructure, according to The Detroit News. The mid-size sedan will list from about $22,000.
Despite BYD’s claims, the F3DM’s stats sheet has yet to be verified. However, BYD’s current owner was a battery company before it acquired BYD, so it seems the company would have the technology to pull off the first commercial plug-in hybrid.
BYD has ambitious plans to enter the U.S. market, but still faces the high hurdles of passing stringent U.S. safety and emissions regulations.
