BYD Frigate 07 is the latest electric SUV from China and starts at $29,000

BYD Frigate 07 joins the extensive family of Ocean Series with design supposedly influenced by ocean aesthetics. This 5-seat electric SUV is an EREV or Extended Range EV and is available in China starting at just over $29,000 and going all the way to $41,500 for the AWD top of the range version with the local incentives already included.

At 4,820 mm of length the car is 10 cm longer than BMW iX3 and 10 cm shorter than BMW iX or Nio EL7. There are two drivetrain options available - front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The first option offers a 145 kW electric motor with 316 Nm of torque and it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.5 seconds. This version comes with a rather disappointing battery of 18.3 kWh which is only good enough for 82 km (WLTC) of pure electric driving.

The AWD version adds another electric motor to the rear axle for a combined output of 295 kW and a not too shabby 656 Nm of torque. The difference in performance puts the two versions worlds apart - the AWD sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.7 seconds. It has a much bigger battery as well, its 36.8 kWh capacity gives the car 170 km (WLTC) of electric-only range.

Both versions use a 1.5 liter turbo-charged Xiaoyun engine that runs the more efficient Miller cycle and is specifically designed for PHEV and EREV vehicles. All versions of the BYD Frigate 07 come with 60 liters fuel which apparently, thanks to the engine used only to recharge the batteries, gives the car combined range of over 1,200 km.

Charging the car can be done either through a normal household plug at 3.3 kW and the AWD version supports 6.6 kW AC charging. Both versions support DC fast charging at either 40 kW or 75 kW respectively. The V2L is supported by all versions and offers up to 6.6 kW

When it comes to equipment, the Frigate 07 has it all. Starting with NFC access allowing owners to use any phone or smartwatch as a key. Then there is the 15.6-inch rotating main screen, 360-degree HD cameras, autonomous parking controlled via an app, highway autonomous driving with the usual now lane assist and to top it all off the huge panoramic glass roof.

BYD is selling over 200,000 vehicles every month with November being the best month so far with over 230,000 cars sold. The company has already sold over 1.6 million cars this year and that number is likely to reach nearly 1.9 million once the year draws to a close. Its overseas sales reached 12,318 vehicles for the first time breaching the 10,000 sales in a month.

Via