Chinese super-manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) has revealed their latest products at Germany’s IAA. These will be destined to compete in Europe for market share of the slow growing but inevitable electric truck market. The show marked the global debut of their van, the 3.5 to 4.25 tonne BYD E-VALI with a range of up to 250kms, plus the European launch of the dock spotter, BYD EYT 2.0, plus the 7.5 tonner ETM6 with a 200km range and the 19 tonne BYD ETH8 eTruck with a 250km range.
The manufacturer has grown since starting out in the mobile phone sector to become one of the largest electric vehicle makers in the world.
The 7.5 and 19 tonne trucks both use the company’s eTruck platform with their own in-house batteries, motors and motor control system. The larger ETH offers two wheelbases and all the advanced driver assistance aids the European market demands.
Weighing in at an unladen weight of just over 8 tonnes, the payload of almost 11 tonnes seems reasonable for a range up to 250kms. With 180kW maximum power and a two hour charging time for the 255kWh Iron-Phosphate batteries from 20-100%.
As far as the E-VALI van is concerned, the 4.25t version has a load volume up to 17.9m3, with a payload of 1,450kg. The 3.5t version offers 13.9m3 and a payload of up to 700kg.
There’s no UK dealer network for these trucks yet, but that’s likely to change over the coming years. Watch this space