BYD’s new flagship EV breaks cover for the first time with over 1,000 km of range [Video]

This is a car story, not a home-upgrade story, but here's what happened: Chinese automaker BYD has revealed its new flagship electric sedan, the Great Han, ahead of its official debut at the Chengdu Motor Show in China next month. The car has been spotted publicly for the first time, and BYD says it will offer a range of 1,008 km (about 626 miles) on a single charge, using a Chinese testing standard called CLTC.

The sedan uses BYD's newer Blade Battery 2.0 along with fast-charging technology that can take the battery from 10% to 70% in about 5 minutes, or to nearly full in 9 minutes, when paired with high-powered charging equipment. It comes in single-motor and dual-motor versions, with the higher-output all-wheel-drive model producing 764 horsepower. Size-wise, it's a large sedan, bigger than a Tesla Model S and closer to a long-wheelbase Mercedes S-Class.

There's no word yet on U.S. pricing or availability, since BYD sells this model in China. A related SUV from the same lineup started at roughly $37,000 there, so the sedan is expected to be priced similarly. For homeowners in the U.S. thinking about home EV charging, this doesn't change anything directly, since BYD does not currently sell passenger vehicles in the American market. It's mainly a sign of how far EV range and charging speed are advancing elsewhere.