Last week’s trip to China, organized by BYD Philippines, was one for the books. It had some 40 media delegates composed of veterans and younger ones in the beat plus officials from BYD and their support agency for a total of 61.
It took almost one year for the trip to happen, but for good reasons. The group’s visit was just in time for us to be able to get a feel of BYD’s brand-new test grounds, the BYD All-Terrain Circuit in Zhengzhou City, which was inaugurated only last 14 August. We also had four plane rides within five days.
We took an early morning flight from Manila to Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific last Monday.
Then we took an early lunch at a hotel near the airport. Two shuttle buses took us to Mainland China, where we went through another immigration process. We carried our baggage to the buses again for an hour trip to the Intercontinental Hotel and Resort in Shenzhen. A welcome dinner was hosted by Adam Hu, BYD Philippines country manager, and Bob Palanca, BYD Philippines general manager, who promised a packed but exciting five-day stay in China.
Day 2 brought us to the BYD head office in Shenzhen. Here, we had a group interview with Liu San, BYD vice president for South Asia Liu said that the partnership of BYD and AC Mobility is a perfect match and will result in more EV and hybrid vehicle models to be introduced in the Philippines.
We then had a tour of their exhibits of history, technology, and the rise of their NEVs or New Energy Vehicles. Displayed in the lobby are the new Yangwang U8 and the U9, perhaps the most popular cars on display. It is the world’s fastest car, having registered a speed of 496.22 kph at the ATP in Germany.
After lunch, we took a two-hour flight to Zhengzhou City, which is located somewhere in the middle of China. The Intercon would be our home for the next three nights.
Day 3 was another exciting day as we toured the interactive BYD D-Space in downtown Zhengzhou. The BYD Museum showcases BYD’s history and its contributions to electric vehicles and sustainable energy. The BYD blade battery is the life and soul of BYD cars, and the tour showed how tough the battery was.
In the afternoon, we opted for a city tour of the City God Temple, the Confucius Temple, and the centuries-old Zhengzhou walls and ruins, which are the counterparts of our Old Intramuros. Some of us opted for a night lake tour.
The trip’s theme is the BYD-Tech Empowered Driving Experience, and this is best applied on our fourth day activities. From the hotel, we were shuttled to the BYD All-Terrain Circuit, some 40 minutes away. Here, we were greeted by a display of BYD emax9 DMi and Sealion 8 DMi, models that are not yet available in the country.
The new facility was opened only last August, and we were told that we are the first motoring journalists from Southeast Asia to drive in the proving grounds, which consist of a 1.6-kilometer high-speed track, a low-traction circular experience zone, a large sand dune performance hill, a 1.6-meter deep water crossing, and a professional off-road driving experience zone. Here, we used Sealion 6, Seal, Sealion 5, Denssa van, and the Yangwang U8 for the water crossing and the sand dune climb.
It was a treat to see the SUV floating and moving in the 1.6-meter water propelled by its four wheels, with passengers having an eight-minute opportunity to get off or be rescued from the sunroof. The U9 sports car was driven by a professional race driver, with a media participant being given a chance to be a passenger in each lap on the high speed track.
Day 5 was a 12-hour trip (including shuttle and transfers) back home with a two-hour flight from Zhengzhou to Hongkong and one hour 40 minutes to Manila.