Born from a union of Germany’s Daimler and China’s BYD, the importance of the BYD Denza to China’s EV future cannot be understated. The nearly $60,000 Denza may not be pretty, and its range may not be all that impressive, and it could take more than a day to fully charge but…uh…yeah, why am I impressed with this car again?
Oh right. I’m not. Granted, the 15 to 180 miles of rated driving range is about twice that of the Nissan Leaf, but those numbers can be fudged depending on the testing cycle and favorable conditions. What can’t possibly be sugarcoated is the 15 hours it takes to recharged the Denza from a public charging network that has yet to be built. Want to plug it in at home? Prepare to wait as long as 32 hours for a full battery. Even if you only need a half-charge, you’re talking about 16 hours just to top off.
Just a reminder, this is a $60,000 vehicle built by the owners of Mercedes and one of Warren Buffett’s darling green investments. Really? This is the best they can do?
While government subsidies could whack as much as $19,000 off the MSRP, even the most devout EV advocate has to admit that this vehicle is all but impractical for the lives of everybody but shut-ins. With the Tesla Model S beginning sales through its Hong Kong store last week, methinks this overpriced BYD EV is DOA.
Maybe they should stick to hybrids instead.
Source: Automotive News
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