Chinese automaker BYD has unveiled the D1, a compact-sized, battery-powered van co-designed with the vehicle-for-hire operator DiDi.
The D1 sports the company’s trademark Dragon Face 3.0 front fascia and has a charger port in the right front fender. It is 4,390 mm long, 1,850 mm wide, 1,650 mm tall and has 2,800 mm between the axles. The tires measure 195/60 R16.
Powering the model is a single electric motor rated at 136 PS (134 hp / 100 kW), which can take it to 130 km/h (81 miles per hour) at most. A 54-kWh battery is installed for 418 kilometers (260 miles) of NEDC-rated driving range. Automatic emergency braking is listed under features, and the company hopes to add autopilot to the list by 2025.
The cabin makes use of imitation leather, a 10.1-inch center display and a digital dash of unspecified size. The sliding door is automatic.
The important thing to understand is that BYD will not be bringing the D1 to the retail car market. Instead, it will ship it to ride sharing and taxi services starting in December. The target production volume exceeds 1,000,000 annual units.