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  • Electric BYD, another Chinese giant that lands in Europe

"That our arrival in Spain has coincided with the landing of other Chinese brands, has been simple curiosity. We started working on the project as early as 2020," says Pere Brugal, BYD's sales manager for Europe. In fact, they already started in 2021 in Norway with the passenger car business and much earlier, for eight years, they market electric buses in our country. In addition, for a few years, they had a fleet of electric taxis in Barcelona.

The three models on sale

Manufacturing batteries for 28 years

The newcomer is not a newbie either. Born 28 years ago as battery manufacturers, BYD (for Built Your Dreams) is the world's first producer of batteries with LFP (lithium-ferrophosphates) technology that do not need scarce materials such as nickel or cobalt and only last year, sold almost 1.9 million 100% electric or plug-in hybrid cars, although the vast majority in its local market. In addition, from 2022 they no longer produce vehicles only gasoline or diesel

The Atto 3 is an SUV of 4.45 meters long

To this is added to being the only manufacturer today that offers complete integration from the engines, transmission, battery, control units and semiconductors that assemble its cars.

Eight dealers already this year

"Spain is very important to us and, as we do not believe in direct sales, we have partnered with the best dealer groups, such as Astara, Ceatano and Quadis. Right now we have already opened our first two stores in Madrid and Barcelona, but in the coming months we will add another six dealerships (Malaga, Seville, Valencia and the Canary Islands, along with Madrid and Barcelona again," said Jordi Cuesta, country manager of BYD in Spain. However, the idea is to reach 40 stores by 2025, which will force them to look for new partners apart from those they already have.

BYD's initial offer is made up of three zero-emission cars: the Atto 3, a compact SUV with a more youthful approach; the Hang, a large SUV with seven seats; and the Tan, a luxurious sedan that is the flagship of the Chinese brand in Europe. The first part of the 41,400 euros without aid, while the other two, with a more luxurious approach and with a larger size, shoot up to 69,990 euros. In these two cars, there is no possibility of benefiting from the Moves III.

As standard, the wheels are 18 inches

In mid-April, two other new models will be announced, including the well-known Seal and which would be a rival to the Tesla Model 3.

Thinner and stronger battery

In all three cases, but especially in the last two, the idea is to offer "a premium approach and with high equipment, but without shooting up prices," they say in the manufacturer. In addition, innovative solutions such as e-platform 3, whichis scalable and integrates the stack itself into the structure; the Blade technology used in the battery and that makes it thinner, apart from offering greater resistance, durability and resistance. Finally, all three models have a heat pump and comprehensive management of the entire thermal and cooling part of the electrical system, which increases its efficiency thanks to the lower impact of extreme temperatures.

BYD Atto 3

All customers who book one of these three models before May 31, will receive as a gift a charger that operates at 11 kW and up to 6 years or 150,000 km, with a specific warranty for the battery of 8 years or 200,000 km.

Atto 3, the access model

It is an SUV of 4.45 meters long, although it stands out more the 2.72 meters of battle, a proportionally large data. The exterior design is quite accomplished and is very clean, although inside it seems recharged with the large climate control wheels and for the aerators; the door handles or the strings that, in the style of those of a guitar (and sound if played), are in the lower part of those.

Very large wheelbase for size: 2.72 meters

In its favor, the majority of soft coatings, even in the back, where there is good legroom. And the trunk, with double bottom, offers a very good 440 liters.

Interior of the BYD Atto 3

Vertically or horizontally

The driving position is determined by the standard sports seats (with power regulation) and the two digital displays. The one behind the steering wheel is small (it has five inches), but offers a lot of information, while the central one for multimedia can be 12.8 or 15.6 inches, depending on the finish.

Interior of the BYD Atto 3

It has good resolution, is intuitive and responds quite quickly. A success, without a doubt. As a hallmark of BYD, the driver can choose whether to display it vertically or horizontally. There is connection to the cloud, voice assistant, possibility of remote updates, Android and Apple connectivity and wireless charger for the mobile that, by the way, is activated very quickly.

Atto 3 instrument cluster

Efficient in consumption and dynamics

In the dynamic part, we find a 204 hp engine and a battery of 60.48 kWh capacity that give a lot. In fact, an average consumption of 15.6 kWh has been approved, which means a range of 420 km in WLTP combined cycle. In the city, it can reach 565 km.

Interior of the BYD Atto 3

They are not 'falsified' figures: we were able to drive an Atto 3 for about 60 km and without any care – on the contrary, we were looking for its dynamic limits – it gave us an average expenditure of 17.4 kWh. Although we hardly notice differences between the standard regeneration and the one that qualify as "high", contrasts that do appear more marked between the four available driving modes.

Interior of the BYD Atto 3

Convey confidence

The behavior is another remarkable element: it filters well, does not wobble excessively despite being high, the steering is very acceptable and the brakes respond without a dead initial travel that, sometimes, is found in other electric.

Interior of the BYD Atto 3

Let's say that it transmits confidence from the beginning and makes everything very easy, apart from showing excellent acceleration (it takes 7.3 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km / h). As for recharging, in alternating current (the one at home) it can do so up to 11 kW and 150 kW in direct, which means going from 30% to 80% in 29 minutes. By the way, the Atto 3 (like the other BYDs that are on sale now) has V2L technology – only in the most equipped version – and can provide energy to our house or other external devices at powers of up to 3.7 kW.

Trunk of the Atto 3

Very generous endowment

The standard equipment is very extensive: keyless access and start, metallic paint, panoramic roof, 18-inch wheels, dual digital display, navigator, vegan leather upholstery, heated and electric front seats, Dirac audio system, LED lights, 360 camera and a large number of safety and assistance systems. The Comfort version costs 41,400 euros, for the 42,900 of the Design that adds electric tailgate, climate control with air purifier and the largest screen. You can also access an Atto for 299 per month through financing.

The BYD Han is a five-meter-long sedan

Han, the flagship and rival of the Model S

It is the top of the range in the brand. We speak in this case of a saloon of five meters long, with a very aerodynamic body (Cx of 0.23) although not very capable inside in relation to its size: it is configured only for four occupants and the trunk is 410 liters, less than in the Atto 3 even. Of course, almost the entire cabin is lined with materials such as nappa leather, wood, aluminum or carbon fiber.

The Han is the most luxurious model in the range

The feeling of quality is very great, also in the adjustments, the sound of the doors when closing or how well the interior of the rear center armrest has been resolved. It even has an extra digital screen that serves the occupants. All seats are electric, heated and cooled, the instrumentation screen grows to 12.3 inches and is completed with a generous head up display.

BYD Han dashboard

All-wheel drive

The Tan has four-wheel drive, thanks to the two electric motors that deliver a joint power of 517 hp, 700 Nm and a thrust that is limited in speed (180 km / h) but which is given free rein in acceleration. It only takes 3.9 seconds to do the 0 to 100. And then, to stop, it has brakes tuned by Brembo. It is not the only delicacy since the BYD Han is also equipped with adaptive suspensions.

Interior of BYD Han

The battery of this model has 85.4 kWh that allow to reach 521 km of autonomy in WLTP and 662 in the urban. There is also V2L technology and the recharging power is 120 kW, so it takes half an hour to go from 30% to 80% of the capacity. As for the equipment, the most remarkable thing is that it adds to everything that has already been commented in the other two models, Level 2 autonomous driving.

Interior of BYD Han

The price of the basic version of the Han is 69,990 euros. The so-called Emerald Edition, a limited series with a special color for the body and specific upholstery also in green goes up to 74,000 euros.

The BYD Tang is on sale for 69,990 euros

A seven-seater SUV: BYD Hang

The third car with which the Chinese brand lands in Spain is the Tang, an SUV of 4.87 meters long and always designed with seven seats, with a trunk that is 235 liters with all seats occupied and 940 liters when only five are used.

BYD Tang dashboard

The powertrain is essentially the same as the Tan, with all-wheel drive, 517 hp and 86.4 kWh battery that can be recharged at 120 kW and offers a range from 400 to 528 depending on whether it is mixed cycle or only urban. The interior is also built with great care and high-quality materials throughout the entire car. The maximum speed is 180 km / h, as in the Han, but accelerates from 0 to 100 a little slower, in 4.6 seconds.

BYD Tang front seats

It is offered with a single finish and equipment very similar to the Han, with up to 25 safety and driving assistants, although as a distinctive fact the car can be opened by touching the left rearview mirror, the multimedia central screen is 12.8 inches and has a premium sound system with 12 speakers. The sale price is 69,990 euros.

Third row of seats of the BYD Tang

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