BYD increases EV battery warranty, surpassing Tesla
Kyiv • UNN
Chinese automaker BYD has significantly extended the battery warranty coverage for its electric vehicles in Europe to 8 years or 250,000 km. This new policy exceeds industry standards and puts pressure on competitors.
Chinese automaker BYD is taking a significant step to boost confidence in its electric vehicles in Europe, announcing a major update to its warranty terms, extending battery warranty coverage to 8 years or 250,000 km, whichever comes first, Electrek reports, writes UNN.
Details
This new policy significantly surpasses the industry standard and puts pressure on competitors such as Tesla and Volkswagen to follow suit.
The announcement was made through BYD Europe's official channels, confirming that the new warranty terms apply to its "new energy vehicle" (NEV) lineup in the region.
Previously, BYD offered a warranty more in line with the industry average, typically around 8 years or 160,000 km, with some variations such as 200,000 km in select markets. This increase to 250,000 km is a significant mileage increase, effectively targeting high-mileage drivers, taxis, and Uber drivers who may be concerned about long-term degradation.
For context, here's how BYD's new warranty compares to major competitors in Europe:
- BYD (new): 8 years / 250,000 km;
- Tesla (Model 3/Y RWD): 8 years / 160,000 km
- Tesla (Long Range/Perf): 8 years / 192,000 km;
- Volkswagen (ID. Series): 8 years / 160,000 km;
- Hyundai/Kia: 8 years / 160,000 km.
As can be seen, BYD now offers almost 60% more mileage than the standard warranty provided by Volkswagen and basic Tesla models. Even compared to Tesla's Long Range warranty, BYD offers an additional 58,000 km.
This move is made possible by BYD's confidence in its Blade Battery technology, which, interestingly, is used by competitors such as Tesla, the publication notes.
The Blade Battery uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry, known for its longer lifespan than the nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cells traditionally used in long-range electric vehicles.
BYD often claims that the Blade Battery can withstand over 3,000 charge cycles while maintaining acceptable capacity. Even with a linear degradation to 70% capacity over this lifespan, 3,000 cycles on a vehicle with a starting range of 400 km would still result in approximately 1 million kilometers of total lifespan. Therefore, as the publication notes, the 250,000 km warranty remains quite conservative for the chemistry, even if it is aggressive for the market.
This comes as BYD continues its aggressive expansion in Europe, having recently launched the Sealion 7 and updated versions of the Seal and Atto 3.