BYD enters LCV market with E-Vali electric van

BYD is presenting a new electric van tailored to the European market at Hanover’s IAA Transportation trade fair. The E-Vali is BYD’s entry into the electric 3.5 and 4.25-ton segment.

The Chinese manufacturer has announced two lengths and two drive options for its electric van aimed at Europe. The shorter 3.5-tonner has a wheelbase of 3.9 meters and a load volume of 13.9 cubic meters. The longer 4.25-tonner has a wheelbase of 4.55 meters between the axles and offers 17.9 cubic meters of space for goods in the cargo area.

Both variants have identical width and height. The vehicle’s dimensions are 5,995 x 2,096 x 2,780 mm in the first case and 6,995 x 2,096 x 2,780 mm in the second.

RWD or AWD

Under the body, the BYD E-Vali has either a single-motor rear-wheel drive with a maximum of 150 kW or an all-wheel drive with an additional 100 kW motor on the front axle.

In both variants, the onboard electricity is stored in a battery with a nominal capacity of 80.6 kWh, enabling a WLTP range of 220 to 250 kilometers. According to BYD, this is a proprietary blade battery with LFP chemistry.

The electric transporter van has an 11 kW onboard charger for AC charging, with 22 kW available as an option. For charging DC devices, the E-Vali offers a charging capacity of 188 kW, with BYD specifying a time of 30 minutes for charging from 10 to 80 percent.

Last-mile and parcel delivery

BYD also mentions a payload of 700 to 1,450 kilograms and a top speed of 120 kph as further technical data. The BYD delivery van also offers a V2L connection with 3 kW for charging external devices.

The Chinese want to position the model as an alternative for last-mile and parcel delivery. The E-Vali also has wide-opening rear doors and a relatively high load compartment, allowing the driver to stand upright in the vehicle.

According to Car News China, the BYD E-Vali will also include an interesting offer of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). According to the Chinese portal, the standard equipment will include adaptive cruise control, a collision warning system, an automatic emergency braking system, a blind spot warning system, and hill start assist.

In addition, the van will support Apple Carplay and Android Auto and will have features such as an inductive charging cradle for mobile phones and voice control in the cockpit.

Also trucks

At the event in Hanover, BYD not only unveiled its new electric LCV but also showcased its electric truck family and its electric yard tractor, the EYT 2.0, for the first time.

In addition to the E-Vali, BYD announced the EYT 2.0 electric yard tractor for the European market. It is designed for logistics and transportation scenarios such as ports and docks.

The EYT 2.0 features an offset cab design and a total weight capacity of up to 75 tons, making handling large containers and trailers easy. It is also equipped with BYD’s Blade Battery, which offers a maximum working time of 16 hours.

BYD’s truck models, the ETM6 and ETH8, were also showcased at the event. The 7.5-ton medium truck, ETM6, is designed for urban logistics, while the 19-ton heavy truck, ETH8, is intended for urban cleaning and logistics.

BYD stated that both models are built on its specialized electric truck platform and have full-load ranges of 200 km and 250 km, respectively.

By the end of June 2024, BYD’s commercial vehicle arm had sold more than 110,000 units globally, including 30,000 new energy trucks and specialized vehicles. BYD is becoming aggressive on the commercial vehicle side.