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2003 marked a change in direction as
BYD Auto Co. Ltd was founded. The
Xi’an industry plant was the hub for
BYDs first automotive base, which took
responsibility for vehicle, engine and
auto components manufacturing. The 3
series cars such as the F3 and G3 are
all produced here and will be pushing
for a place within Europe in the not too
distant future. BYD have also branched
out into the electric bus and electric
taxi market, and on that note, many
BYD buses and taxis were on show
in and around Shenzhen, highlighting
their strong presence within their home
market.
At this point you will no doubt be
wondering how and where BYD
will venture next. For you logistics
enthusiasts there is good news on this
front as BYD aim to rattle the cage of
the forklift industry. BYD announced
their arrival in 2012 when they released
the world’s first all-electric zero
emission forklift powered by their Fe
batteries. A battery manufacturer using
their technological resources, combined
with their recent car manufacturing
operations in an attempt to make their
own forklift. Could this really work?
Well 3 years later and the BYD forklift
range starts from the 1.6T up towards
the 3.5T vehicles, with the 1.6 model the
1st 80 Volt 1.6 Ton 3 wheel Forklift. Note
Contijoch’s statement of intent; “5 years
spent researching forklift manufacturing
and with 10 years’ experience in car
manufacturing, we are confident of
making forklifts on own.” He provided
some friendly advice; “wait until you test
them, the speed and manoeuvrability
will really impress you.” He was not
wrong.
Adding to the forklift family are BYD’s
2.0 ton Pallet Truck and the 1.4 ton
Stacker which will be available to the
European market in Q3 of this year.
Even though we were unable to test
these latest additions, the heavy duty
version Pallet Truck (PTP20H) can
reach up 12 km/h.
The counterbalance trucks feature,
as standard equipment, a lithium iron
phosphate battery accompanied with
side charging and a quick charge
charger. Having briefly touched on the
BYD battery technology that they use
to distinguish themselves by, it is only
fair to look into the BYD Fe battery
technology that they claim will be a
USP in itself to the forklift world.
BYD’s battery technology provides both
operational cost-saving and reliability,
which will help shake up the market.
In operation, forklift battery charge
percentage is monitored so as to
ensure both efficiency and protection
for the battery and the operator. At
20% charge the charging speed is
slower than at higher percentages so
as to encourage the operator not to
let the battery drop below 25%. At 10%
charge the lifting stops and at 5% every
function is automatically halted. During
the factory tour we saw first-hand the
power of the charging unit. The battery
in question had 30% charge and within
8 minutes the battery had more than
doubled to 70% charge.
During this time no battery memory is
affected, much to the benefit of both
the operator and the battery itself. What
is equally impressive is that only 2% is
lost in heat when charging, allowing for
98% energy efficiency. With standard
LED batteries there is usually only 30%
energy efficiency when charging, giving
the Fe battery a distinct advantage.
It is important to stress that once past
70%, the power of the battery charger
cannot match the charge speed from
30%. This suggests that the emphasis
here is to encourage the operator to
put the forklift on charge during a 10
– 15 minute break and then return to
work, helping to maintain efficiency and
save time on battery charging. BYD
add further good news to their battery
37
Logistics Business Magazine | September 2015
FORKLIFTS