BYD e5

The BYD e5 is a compact all-electric car manufactured by the Chinese company BYD, built on the body of the petrol-powered BYD Surui sedan that the maker introduced in 2012. It has a 65 amp-hour lithium iron phosphate battery that gives an all-electric range of 220 kilometres and a top speed of 150 kilometres per hour. Retail sales began in China in September 2015, when 1,426 cars were delivered, and 15,639 more followed in 2016, bringing the total to 17,065 sold in China through December 2016. A longer-range BYD e5 300, rated at 300 kilometres and sharing many characteristics with the BYD Qin EV300, was launched in 2016. Government incentives led to exports to several Latin American countries for use as taxis, including Santiago in Chile, and in Guayaquil in Ecuador it became the most popular electric taxi.