BYD F3DM

The BYD F3DM, with DM standing for dual mode, was a compact plug-in hybrid sedan from the Chinese maker BYD and is described as the first plug-in hybrid car to be built in mass production. It could run about 60 kilometres on battery alone and use its hybrid drivetrain to add roughly 480 kilometres more. Sales began on 15 December 2008 to government agencies and corporations in China, and only 48 cars were sold in the first year. Sales to the general public opened in Shenzhen in March 2010, 417 cars were sold that year, and cumulative Chinese sales reached 3,284 by October 2013, with just 11 sold in Europe by October 2012. A trial programme with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles began in December 2010, but US retail sales were postponed for lack of charging infrastructure. BYD announced in April 2012 that the slow seller would be replaced by the Qin plug-in hybrid, and the F3DM was out of production by May 2013.