Chinese automaker BYD has launched its first Brazilian-made plug-in hybrid flex-fuel car onto the Brazilian market.
The launch follows a two-year investment of almost US$20 billion, according to a Reuters report.
The Song Pro Super Hybrid can run on electricity, gasoline or ethanol.
The new version of Super Hybrid was unveiled late last year at a ceremony to officially inaugurate BYD’s final-assembly line in Camaçari, Brazil – the factory where the Song Pro is produced.
The car features DM-i (Dual Mode Intelligent) technology, like the systems seen in popular European-market models such as the SEAL U DM-i and the SEAL 6 DM-i.
BYD says it offers a predominantly EV driving experience, with the combustion engine functioning primarily as a power generator for the battery, even when driving in hybrid mode.
In the case of the Song Pro, engineers from China and Brazil collaborated on a version of the Super Hybrid system’s 1.5-engine that can run on any ratio of petrol and ethanol, Brazil’s popular green fuel (derived from sugar cane), while offering strong performance and high efficiency.
BYD founder and CEO Wang Chuanfu said: “Two years ago, on a visit to Brazil, I realised the potential of ethanol. We then decided that we would bring our plug-in hybrid technology, but with a flex engine developed by and for this country.”
