BYD has conducted an internal investigation of the durability of its Blade 2.0 traction battery powering the Yangwang U7 saloon. The car had spent almost nine days on the track, riding fast and discharging only to be recharged with its highest supported current and sent back to the track. It’s only lost 1.3 percent of its capacity in the end, the automaker claims.
The test took the Yangwang U7 through 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles) of track. The ambient temperature averaged 36 degrees Celsius (96.7 ºF), necessitating the HVAC on board to run continuously at 24 ºC (75.2 ºF). The saloon spent most of its time cruising at 240 km/h (149 mph) or close. Drivers replaced one another in shifts, and the total number of charging stops exceeded 350 by the end of the test run.
When the battery was subsequently examined, BYD discovered that it still had 98.7% of its original capacity remaining. The company didn’t specify many details, but the U7 ships with two battery sizes in China – 135.5 and 150 kWh. The former is rated for 800 kilometers (497 miles) per the CLTC cycle, and the latter is said to be good for 1,006 kilometers (625 miles).
Assuming that the test vehicle had the latter – larger – pack installed, it’d mean losing 13 kilometers (8 miles) in absolute terms. The resulting range after 30,000 km and 350+ rapid charging cycles should still be around 993 km (617 mi).
Aside from its supposed longevity, the Blade 2.0 battery pack reportedly takes less than 10 minutes to charge from 10 to 97 percent full. As for the Yangwang U7, it sends up to 1,306 PS (1,288 hp / 960 kW) to the wheels and starts from 658,000 CNY on its domestic market ($97,820).