Electric car BYD Atto 3: Facelift brings switch to 800 volts
The BYD Atto 3 gets a major overhaul: significantly increased charging performance, more powerful drive, and optional all-wheel drive.
(Image: BYD)
The Chinese mass-producer of electric cars BYD is giving its SUV model Atto 3 a major technical overhaul. The greatest customer benefit is likely to come from improving the comparatively weak charging performance by doubling the voltage. Given the previously not outstanding DC charging performance of a maximum of 85 kW, BYD can be credited with being one of the pioneers of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell chemistry with the Atto 3. In the future, the electric car will also be available with rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. As part of the model update, the four-link rear suspension will also be replaced by a five-link system for "improved driving dynamics," as BYD writes.
BYD Atto 3 evo Teil eins (5 Bilder)
BYD
)It remains with lithium iron phosphate
Both versions of the Atto 3, new additional designation "evo", will receive a larger LFP battery with 74.8 instead of the previous 60 kWh, also in the proven, space- and weight-saving Cell-to-Pack construction, which BYD calls "Blade Battery". The WLTP range will thus increase from 430 to 510, or 470 km for the all-wheel drive model, respectively. Its 800-volt architecture is intended to enable DC charging with up to 220 kW and thus, under optimal conditions, shorten the charging time from ten to 80 percent to 25 minutes. For comparison: Tesla achieves comparable charging performance with 20 minutes under similar conditions with a 400-volt LFP battery in the Model Y. For the 60 kW battery in the current Atto 3, BYD specifies a charging time of 44 minutes. At a three-phase connected wallbox, charging with a maximum of 11 kW is possible. The duration specified by BYD from 0 to 100 percent is then eight hours. As a bonus, BYD offers Vehicle-to-Load, which can supply external devices with up to 3 kW of power.
The Atto 3 with rear-wheel drive has 230 kW as in the BYD Sealion and a torque of 380 Nm instead of the previous 150 kW and 310 Nm. A relatively large leap, which is likely also related to the fact that the increased charging power enables higher recuperation. This allows more energy to be fed back when braking, which can help improve efficiency. The rear motor is always a permanently excited electric machine. The optional front drive is an asynchronous motor, which generates less resistance when coasting without power. This is a common measure to increase efficiency in all-wheel-drive electric cars, as used for example by Volkswagen.
BYD Atto 3 evo Teil zwei (5 Bilder)
BYD
)More space with the same dimensions
Thus strengthened, the car with the rear engine should reach 100 km/h from a standstill in 5.5 seconds. With all-wheel drive, the total output is 330 kW, the maximum torque is 560 Nm, which according to the manufacturer shortens the sprint time to 3.9 seconds. Both drive versions offer a towing capacity of 1500 kg. In addition to the changes to the drive and chassis, BYD reports improvements in usability. For example, BYD increases the trunk volume of the Atto 3 evo by 50 to 490 or 1360 liters, with the wheelbase remaining the same at 2720 millimeters. A frunk with a capacity of 101 liters is also new.
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BYD offers a six-year manufacturer's warranty for the vehicle and an eight-year or 250,000 km warranty for at least 70 percent SOH for the battery. The BYD Atto 3 evo can be ordered now from 44,990 Euros in basic equipment and 50,990 Euros for the all-wheel drive version Excellence. BYD expects first deliveries "for spring".
(fpi)