AND known mostly for its electric models, BYD has recently turned its focus to its electrified DM-i engines. This technology combines electric and gasoline engines to ensure low fuel consumption and a range of over 1,000 km.
Believe it or not, a boxer engine will serve as a generator to recharge the traction battery. This kind of configuration wouldn’t be unexpected from an automaker like Porsche or Subaru, but it’s more surprising to associate it with BYD. However, there are good reasons why the company has chosen the circuit of a boxer engine to generate current, it charges the battery and from there the wheels are driven by electric motors.
Compared to traditional in-line engines, the flat design lowers the center of gravity and improves driving dynamics. It also uses a dry-sump lubrication system to reduce size and noise, along with a custom-engineered oil circulation design and optimized cooling system to suit the opposed-cylinder configuration.
According to BYD, at idle and low load, the engine is only 1 decibel louder than an electric motor – in other words, practically inaudible.
The new 2.0-liter turbo boxer was developed specifically to act as a range extender for electric cars – more precisely, series hybrids – built on the e4 platform. Its main role is to act as a generator to recharge the battery. However, BYD says that under certain conditions the boxer engine can drive the rear axle directly, delivering 272 hp and 380 Nm.
