BYD has partnered with Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxiang to develop an all-electric vehicle designed specifically with ride-hailing in mind. It is called the D1 and appears to have a lot going for it. Powering the BYD D1 is a lithium-ion battery pack with a range of 418 km that’s feeding a 136 hp electric motor. The car also includes a Level 2 driver assistance system that has lane-departure warning, automatic braking and pedestrian collision warning. A driver monitoring system is also being developed to ensure drivers remain attentive at all timed while behind the wheel.
As the D1 has been developed for
ride-hailing, it includes two touchscreen displays on the back of both
headrests that offer passengers access to navigation information and other
features. In addition, it has sliding rear doors which make ingress and egress
easier.
The front part of the interior is quite
minimalist and includes a simple steering wheel and a tiny digital instrument
cluster neatly incorporated into the dashboard and sitting in the middle of two
air vents. Much like the Tesla Model 3, other key features will be displayed on
the large central infotainment system. BYD has also looked to make the driver’s
seat as comfortable as possible for long stints behind the wheel.
BYD and Didi started working together on
the vehicle two years ago. The ride-hailing company used data gathered from its
550 million passengers and 31 million drivers to design the D1.
