The BYD F3 came off the line on April 16, 2005, and went on sale that December for 73,800 to 99,800 yuan. Its chief designer, Lian Yubo, said the car drew on the experience of Japan, Korea and other countries, absorbed a great deal of non-patented technology and digested international design elements. Its shape resembled the ninth-generation Toyota Corolla.
The first F3 used Mitsubishi engines. From 2009, all versions with manual gearboxes used BYD’s own engine. In 2011, the 2012 model brought an engine that Chinese Wikipedia describes as the first of a Chinese brand with variable valve lift. When production ended in 2021, more than 3 million F3 cars had been sold.