BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) maker, has intensified efforts to promote its high-performance batteries and superfast charging technology around the world as it tests a car that it says boasts the world’s longest driving range in a journey from Rome to Hong Kong.
A fleet of upgraded versions of the Z9GT, a car produced under BYD’s premium Denza brand, has been travelling across European countries including Italy, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey for nearly a month at the start of a 15,000km (9,315 mile) journey expected to take around 43 days, the company said.
The Z9GT, fitted with BYD’s Blade Battery 2.0 packs – arranged in an array to increase energy density and resistance to overheating – can go as far as 1,036km on a single charge. BYD said early this year that it offered the world’s longest mileage for a mass-produced pure electric car.
The trip, which started on June 13, was inspired by the legendary travels of Marco Polo more than 750 years ago and is taking place amid a surge in BYD deliveries outside China as the global energy shock arising from the US-Israel war with Iran boosts sales of battery-powered vehicles.
The fleet’s route also includes Vatican City, Hungary, Bulgaria, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and mainland China, and the cars are due to arrive in Hong Kong around July 25.
In the first half of this year, BYD’s overseas deliveries soared 82.5 per cent year on year to 471,091 units, accounting for 42.5 per cent of its total, compared with just 20 per cent last year, according to the carmaker.
BYD said it was also displaying its latest flash charging technology on the roads, which offers the premium car a driving range of more than 900km with just nine minutes of charging.
The project was conceived by Patrick Zhong, founding managing partner of investment firm M31 Capital, and world-renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, to promote sustainability, electric mobility and global connectivity.
“Professor Sachs and Patrick can drive an electric car all the way from Europe to Asia, and we hope they can spread the message about our commitment to sustainable technology,” BYD executive vice-president Stella Li said at the ceremony to kick off the journey in Rome on June 13.
Denza was established as a 50-50 venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz Group in 2011 before the Chinese EV carmaker raised its holding to 90 per cent in 2022. It took full control of the premium EV brand two years later by acquiring the remaining 10 per cent stake from Mercedes-Benz.
On Thursday, BYD unveiled the Denza Z sports car, featuring its self-developed intelligent DiSus body control system, at England’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The European debut of the sports car, which analysts said would aim to take on Porsche’s 911, is in line with BYD’s efforts to spur sales outside mainland China by launching more models and expanding its distribution network.
