The Qin is the successor of the BYD F3DM, the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid automobile which launched in China in 2008. In April 2012, BYD announced that due to its low sales, the F3DM was to be replaced by the Qin.[5][6][7] The BYD Qin is the plug-in hybrid version of the BYD Su Rui, launched in the Chinese market in August 2012.[8] Deliveries in China began in mid December 2013.[9] Retail sales of the BYD Qin began in Costa Rica in November 2013, and BYD planned to start sales in other countries in Central and South America in 2014.[10][11]