BYD India has launched its latest model – the EMax7 MPV – priced between Rs 26.90 lakh and Rs 29.90 lakh, ex-showroom, in the country. The eMax7 is the successor to the outgoing E6 MPV, which was launched as the company’s maiden offering in India in 2021.
The eMax7 measures 4.7 metres in length, offering a wheelbase of 2,800mm, thus allowing a spacious cabin with seating for six or seven occupants, including the driver. BYD India is pitting the latest MPV at family buyers, as well as fleet operators, seeking space, features and comfort inside the vehicle.
The MPV comes in two variants – Premium and Superior – offering a claimed range of 420km and 530km respectively. According to Rajeev Chauhan, VP, Electric Passenger Vehicle Business, BYD India, “Customers are looking for options in the EV segment and that is what we are offering with the eMax7. We have incorporated several consumer feedback points of the E6 into the eMax7 to bring a comprehensive product to the market.”
The eMax7 gets two battery pack options – a 55.4kWh blade battery powering the Premium trim, while the Superior variant getting the bigger 71.8kWh battery pack driving the front-axle-mounted motor that produces 200hp and 310Nm of peak torque.
While the MPV sports a clean and pleasing design on the outside, it gets a host of creature comforts and features inside the cabin. The MPV offers ventilation for the front seats, 6-way electrical adjustment for the driver’s seat, a 60:40 split functionality for the second row seats, as well as ambient lighting across the cabin. A 1.4 square metre panoramic glass roof aids to the overall ambience inside.
The cockpit features a fully digital instrument cluster, a 12.8-inch rotatable infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, a PM2.5 air filtration system, and AC vents in the roof up to the third row. The company is offering six airbags as standard on the eMax7, as well as radar-based ADAS with adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning as some of the active safety features.
Proprietary powertrain tech
The biggest USP on the BYD eMax7 is its ‘blade-cell’ battery which features a unique honeycomb design to offer structural safety, even against a stringent nail penetration test. The company says the technology, first introduced in 2020, has revolutionised the passenger EV segment globally.
“BYD has gained a lot of expertise in various areas over the years. We introduced the revolutionary ‘blade battery’ in 2020, and that has transformed the entire EV industry the world over. We are progressing at a fast pace to bring more innovations towards sustainable mobility,” Chauhan said.
What complements the acclaimed battery pack is a proprietary ‘8-in-1’ powertrain that comprises mechanical, electrical, and electronics components in a single assembly. According to BYD, the powertrain package in the eMax7 includes mechanical reducers to bring down the e-motor’s 20,000rpm to wheel speed; the 150kW e-motor itself, as well as electronics such as the motor controller, battery pack, and DC-DC convertors – all packed into one module – making the design extremely frugal when it coms to its packaging and spatial efficiency.
The EMax7 gets a 7.7kW charger and complementary installation at the buyer’s premise, as well as a 8 year 160,000km warranty on the battery pack, as well as a 6 year warranty on the power electronics such as the DC-DC assembly and high voltage electric control assembly.
Bullish on India
BYD India, which clocked retail sales of 1,776 units in the January-September 2024 period, has already closed on its entire 2023 sales of 2,011 units with just 235 units to spare. With a brand-new product, launched at an aggressive price tag, it remains optimistic about the demand potential for its models in the country. In a recent interaction with Autocar Professional, BYD India guided eyeing a 40% year-on-year growth in volumes by end-2024, and targeting to hit 10,000 units annually by 2026.
“We have several committments towards India. While we arrived way back in 2007, the first commercial e-bus was only launched in the country in 2013. In late 2021, we launched the E6 MPV, followed by the Atto 3 midsize SUV in 2022. In July 2024, the performance sedan – BYD Seal – was launched in the Indian market. We continue to expand our product portfolio in India in a graduaal manner,” Chauhan said.
While it currently operates out of a low-volume assembly line in Tamil Nadu, relying heavily on completely-built units, BYD India is eyeing setting up a full-fledged local manufacturing setup in the country. It is also considering introduction of a midsize SUV priced in the Rs 15-25 lakh range in India around H2 of 2025. BYD, which is a Chinese EV maker and the second-largest EV manufacturer in the world, has clocked cumulative global sales of 9 million units since 2005. It is now set to surpass its major milestone of 10 million units, likely to be achieved around November 2024.
“We are set to reach the 10 million sales milestone by November 2024. While our broader mission is an ambitious target to cool the earth’s temperature by 1-degree Celcius, it underscores our strong commitment to mitigate climate change,” Chauhan signed off.