BYD's fifth-generation DM technology allows the vehicle to consume as low as 2.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers at low charge, with a combined range of up to 2,100 kilometers.

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) has launched its next-generation DM (Dual Mode) hybrid technology to further consolidate its leadership in the segment.

The new energy-vehicle (NEV) maker officially introduced the fifth generation of its DM technology, or DM 5.0, which delivers lower fuel consumption than its predecessor, at an event in Xi'an, Shaanxi province in northwest China today.

BYD first entered the automotive industry in 2003 when it acquired Qinchuan, a manufacturer with an automotive manufacturing license. Xi'an is the city where its first automobile manufacturing base is located.

The company initiated research and development of plug-in hybrid technology in 2004 and launched its first-generation DM hybrid technology platform in 2008.

The BYD F3DM, equipped with the first-generation DM hybrid technology, rolled off the production line at the Xi'an manufacturing base in 2008, and was the world's first plug-in hybrid vehicle to be seen on the road.

In 2021, BYD launched its fourth-generation DM platform, dividing the technology into the more performance-oriented DM-p and the more energy-consumption-oriented DM-i.

Until this year, BYD's Glory edition models continued to use the DM technology and helped the company achieve its annual sales target of 3 million units in 2023, BYD said.

BYD's fifth-generation DM technology gives the engine a thermal efficiency of 46.06 percent, the highest in the world, said Wang Chuanfu, the company's chairman and president, at today's event.

At low charge, fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is as low as 2.9 liters for models equipped with the fifth-generation DM technology, Wang said.

With the technology, the vehicles have a combined range of up to 2,100 kilometers, which is three times that of conventional fuel vehicles, according to Wang.

The Qin L DM-i and Seal 06 DM-i are the first models equipped with BYD's fifth-generation DM technology, which also went on sale today.

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