What a difference a day makes! Yesterday we brought you spy shots of the BYD Song L DM-i and wondered whether the car really would be called Song L due to it not looking particularly like the all-electric Song L. Today thanks to a tweet (or should that be a weit?) on Weibo by Lu Tian, GM of the BYD Dynasty sales division, we know the name is correct.
The post was complete with a teaser poster which shows a rear view of the car with little visible except the light bar. On the poster it simply says “Song L DM-i, big Song is coming.” The image was accompanied by a message saying “Two Songs are in the hall, so stay tuned.”
BYD’s Song L will use the fifth generation DM-i system, which recently debuted. The new PHEV system created a lot of column space thanks to its claims of 46.06%, 2.9 l/100 km, and 2,100 km as its key performance indicators. These might be what it can achieve in the Qin L or Seal 06 but only the thermal efficiency of the 1.5 liter engine will remain the same in the Song L DM-i with fuel economy and range being not as good due to the added weight and poorer aerodynamics of an SUV.
Our best current idea of the performance is from the information we have about the Song Plus DM-i equipped with BYD’s fifth-generation PHEV system. Although the system is based around a 1.5 liter engine with 74 kW of power and 126 Nm of torque, in the Song Plus DM-i it also uses an EHS160 electric motor which gives power of up to 160 kW. In that car there are two battery pack capacity options of 18.3 and 26.6 kWh which give 91 and 128 km respectively all-electric ranges. Fuel consumption for each is 4.95 and 4.98 l/100 km respectively and we should expect a similar configuration and results in the Song L DM-i.
With the Song L DM-i being referred to as the “big Song” by BYD we can expect the car to be larger than the Song Plus DM-i which might also have a detrimental effect on fuel economy and range. For reference the Song Plus DM-i measures in at 4775, 1890, and 1670 mm (l/w/h) along with a wheelbase of 2765 mm. Both the Qin L and Seal 06 have a 2790 mm wheelbase and it is possible as the Song L DM-i is a new car that it will be the same.
Styling certainly seems similar to the Qin L with the same dragon eye 2.0 design language. There’s also a large blackened air intake grille and chrome decoration.
With the teaser poster touching down today we can expect the new car to launch around September or October. Previously it was suggested that the Song Plus DM-i would become the Sea Lion DM-i and be sold as part of the Ocean range. This is now looking more possible.
Source: Fast Technology
