Chinese Automaker BYD Rolls Out Massive Electric Car

DETROIT- Chinese automaker BYD Auto today rolled outa massive electric vehicle today that uses an "iron-based" battery to go morethan 200 miles on a charge.

Known as the E6, the new vehicle will be marketed as a family-orientedcrossover having roughly the same exterior dimensions as a typical family car. Weighingin at 5,060 lb, the new EV is 179 inches long and 64 inches high, making itsignificantly larger than most of the electric vehicles introduced to date. BYDintroduced the E6, whichis expected to be marketed in the U.S. later this year, at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS)here.

The E6 departs from previous EVs, not only in its size, butin its use of the company's so-called "Fe" battery. BYD officials at the show declinedto describe the battery specifically other than to say that it is "iron-based,"but it is believed to use a lithium iron-phosphate chemistry. A spokesman forthe company said the battery's cost is approximately one-third that oflithium-ion batteries being used in competing EVs and its energy density isabout 90 percent of that of lithium-ion. BYD officials said they are able tobuild the battery for low cost because BYD is "the biggest battery company inthe world."

Because the E6 is so large, it uses a battery pack weighing"more than 400 kg" (880 lb), BYD officials say. (Experts at the show suggestedthat the battery pack could weigh significantly more than 400 kg). "Yes, it'sbigger," said Paul Lin, a BYD spokesman. "But it costs less and is safer thanlithium-ion. That's what's important."

Chinese Automaker BYD Rolls Out Massive Electric Car A