Of the 8,051 orders received on launch day, the average price exceeded RMB 240,000, with 35.9 percent of consumers ordering the model with a range of 200 km, BYD said.

(Image credit: BYD)

Facelifts of the hybrid variants of BYD's flagship sedan Han garnered thousands of orders on launch day, underscoring that its strategy of making prices lower by releasing revamped versions of current models is working.

The 2023 Han DM-i and Han DM-p garnered 8,051 orders on launch day, the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) giant announced today.

Both models were officially launched in China yesterday afternoon, with the 2023 Han DM-i offered in six versions starting at RMB 189,800 ($27,000), RMB 199,800, RMB 209,800, RMB 219,800, RMB 239,800 and RMB 249,800, and the 2023 Han DM-p offered in just one version with a starting price of RMB 289,800.

Compared to the previous starting prices of these two models, the Han DM-i is RMB 28,000 lower and the Han DM-p is RMB 32,000 lower.

The 2023 Han DM-i is available in four versions with an NEDC pure electric range of 121 km and two other versions with 200 km. The new Han DM-p has an NEDC pure electric range of 200 km.

Of the 8,051 orders received on launch day, the average price exceeded RMB 240,000, with 35.9 percent of consumers ordering the model with a 200-km range, BYD said today.

The massive price war that erupted in China's auto industry in March is seen as having largely subsided, though BYD's strategy of making prices even lower by releasing new models is making things interesting.

Many BYD models are offered in both pure electric and plug-in hybrid versions, with the latter may also include a DM-i version that focuses more on fuel economy and a DM-p version that focuses more on performance.

On March 16, BYD made the 2023 Han EV available for a starting price of RMB 209,800, down from RMB 219,800 for the model's 2022 version.

On May 10, BYD made a revamped version of its all-electric Seal sedan available, with a starting price of RMB 23,000 lower than the previously available model.

BYD aims to sell at least 3 million vehicles this year and strives to reach 3.6 million, the company's chairman and president Wang Chuanfu said at a March 29 investor conference.

The company sold 210,295 NEVs in April, up 98.31 percent from 106,042 a year earlier and up 1.55 percent from 207,080 in March, data released earlier this month showed.

($1 = RMB 7.0566)

BYD launches facelifts of Han sedan's hybrid variants with lower prices