China pa rin! BYD 'Blade' batteries power the 2024 Kia EV5 EV crossover

The Kia EV5 has made its official debut at the Chengdu Motor Show in China.

The new crossover electric vehicle (EV) features the brand’s latest design language and shares some similarities with the locally available Kia EV6 and the Kia EV9, which was launched in other markets on March 2023.

Aside from revealing the entire exterior of the Kia EV5 ahead of its launch, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information also released a few key specifications, including that the EV would be powered by a BYD Blade battery and a 160-kW electric motor with 310 Nm of torque.

It will also be another global model for the South Korean automaker, joining its EV6 and EV9 siblings. 

Also read: Kia EV5 leaked in China ahead of its August 25 debut

What makes the BYD Blade battery unique?

Like any other battery pack, the singular cells are arranged in an array and layered together.

But BYD's Blade battery has an advantage in its space utilization, offering 50 percent more space than its lithium-iron-phosphate block counterparts.

The Blade battery packs are also rigorously tested with nail penetration tests. These did not emit smoke or fire after being penetrated and their surface temperature only reached between 30 and 60 degrees Celsius.

This was unlike a ternary lithium battery, which had a surface temperature exceeding 500 degrees Celsius and burned violently.

Aside from this, the Blade battery packs were tested in extreme situations, such as being crushed, bent and heated in a furnace to 300 degrees Celsius, along with being overcharged by 260 percent. None of these resulted in an explosion or fire. 

It shows that the BYD Blade battery pack will be safer than its conventional counterparts, while giving you more room for more battery cells, letting you get more range out of the battery pack.

Kia has yet to reveal more information about the EV5, but we can wait for more details about the EV to come out during the Kia EV Day, which will be held on October 2023.

There the automaker will also be “expanding its global vision for electrification” at the event, which indicates the possibility of more EVs to come.

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