More Brands

We only know of BYD from their main line but like many Chinese automakers, they have sub-brands as well. The BYD is their flagship and is exported globally. Denza is an upmarket brand that is beginning to be exported as well. It used to be a joint venture between BYD and Daimler AG, but is now wholly owned by BYD. There’s also Fangchengbao which is their luxury off-roader brand, while Yangwang is their high-performance and ultra-luxury brand. It made headlines recently as their U9 is the fastest production car in the world right now that clocked 496.22 km/h.

BYD reiterates that they create cars that cater to the needs of the consumers. This is why they also made several platforms to build these cars on. We are already familiar with the DM-i platform that’s used in our Sealion 6, Sealion 5, Seal 5, and Tang DM-i. There’s also the DM-O that was used for the Shark 6. New to us during the trip was the DM-P which is an All-Wheel Drive plug-in hybrid platform. They also have a special DiSus which is an independent hydraulic suspension system to complement any platform across their brands.

As for the EVs, they are currently on the third generation with e-Platform 3.0 that was used in our Seagull, Atto 3, Seal, Han, and Dolphin. Not to be confused with their recently announced Super e-Platform that allows for 1,000V or 10C charging that can give a car 400 kilometers of range in 5 mins of plug-in time. I know, it gets confusing, but you’ll get used to it. There’s also a more specialized one called e4 that utilizes 4 electric motors and was used on Yangwang models including the U9.

The batteries are specialized as well. They have different sizes (short blade, square blade, long blade) for different applications. Combined with their cell-to-body technology, they can seamlessly incorporate different battery sizes into a car without compromising other components too much.

BYD is proud of their R&D Division among others. It’s the reason they achieved so much in terms of technology, car capability, and why BYD batteries do not explode or combust even after puncture unlike other battery types. To date, they have 11 research institutes comprising 120,000 engineers (and not one of them thought of putting a third-row air vent on the Tang DM-i). They even have a wall of fame at the showcase section of their headquarters for those who truly stand out among their peers.

In front of that is their ultimate bragging right: the Wall of Patents. So far, they have 35,000+ patents already approved, with another 59,000+ applied for. They even have 4 Golden Patents under their belt meaning what they created is not only significant for themselves, but for the whole country as well.

Lots of showcases in the Di Space Museum are about the big things that BYD has or currently creates. There are also some that aren’t a major breakthrough yet, but peculiar enough to be noticed. This includes the partnership with DJI that is an add-on for the roof of an SUV. It deploys a drone that will let you see your surroundings or the traffic up ahead. There’s also an electric motor with a transparent touchscreen cover. This material could be used for augmented reality applications in vehicles. There’s also a custom paint animation studio that allows you to do custom paint jobs on a car. They also had in-depth studies on paint, wood figuring patterns, NVH, and even scents for a car.

There are still old heads out there saying electrified cars are boring. Well, go to BYD’s All-Terrain Circuit in Zhengzhou, China and you will change your mind. Here, we saw their cars flaunt its capabilities, drive a few of their other offerings, as well as ride some of their most exotic cars.

Riding shotgun in the Yangwang U9 was just insane. The acceleration felt like I’m leaving my fats behind me, while the braking made it seem like I had no neck muscles at all as I bowed down. The seats have an Active Bolstering System that customizes its hug on your sides to give you a better fit especially during cornering. It may not have any glorious sound but the Yangwang U9 is a car to beat. There’s no ramp up in power, it has near perfect cornering, and this is not even the Extreme edition that got the fastest record.

Second best part of the show is the sand dunes and water wading showcase. They had a Yangwang U8 SUV climb the track’s sand dunes which is 29.6m high with a 28-degree slope. Upwards and down was no problem for the SUV.

Perhaps very useful for the Philippines would be the Yangwang U8’s water floating capabilities. It can detect if the car is on the verge of floating on water. Once it initiates the Emergency Floating feature, it would shut down the engine, increase the suspension height, seal the windows, and open the sunroof for escape. There’s limited steering input while in this mode but it will allow the car to float for up to 30 minutes. Once the wheels are on solid ground again, it will then revert to its normal mode but the car has to be serviced immediately afterwards.

I also drove the Denza Z9 which is a 5-door hatch with around 952 horsepower. The only caveat was I drove it on a slippery roundabout that simulates driving on ice. Obviously I wasn’t able to maximize its power given I was in drift mode, but it was a lot of fun especially with how it can really control just the rear wheels as if it were a real rear-wheel drive car.

There’s also the Fangchengbao Bao 5 which is like a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado competitor. It has five seats, same platform as the Shark 6, only this comes with 677 horsepower and All-Wheel Drive. They can’t confirm if it has the DiSus suspension system but it was good. At one point in the test track it went down a flight of stairs without our knowledge and from inside, it felt like NLEX speed bumps.

The most surprising thing about BYD’s innovations though is they have trains for public transportation. The first is SkyRail which is a monorail system that’s cost-effective to build and has a short construction period according to them. There’s also the SkyShuttle which is a fully autonomous train system that is smaller in size but meant for in-city travel or up to medium cities.

I imagine the SkyShuttle would be the best option for transportation in business districts like BGC or inter-city travel between Makati CBD and BGC. Meanwhile, the SkyRail can be a good option for East to West travelling in Metro Manila, especially as the eastern side has a horrendous bottle neck every rush hour.

Both SkyRail and SkyShuttle are already operational in some cities in China, but are yet to be done in other countries. BYD said they are ready to make it in other places but interested parties should reach out to them. I hope the agencies from the Philippines do reach out, but only after this kickback mess that’s in the news right now.

Seeing all things BYD have done, worked on, and are working on are simply mind-boggling. Sure, other brands have their own innovations as well. It’s just all of these emphasize how big their leaps have been, especially if you consider that they only started making cars around 2003. 22 years later and they’re already sitting at the frontier of the next-generation of mobility. Impressive indeed. I can’t wait what they’ll be doing next.