We spotted what looked to be the unreleased BYD Tang DM-i, covertly driving along C5 in Quezon City.
This plug-in hybrid luxury SUV received its homologation papers from the Land Transportation Office just last month, but distributors, BYD Cars Philippines and ACMobility, have not publicly concretized anything about its possible debut and release.
BYD’s Dynasty series, which presently includes the Tang and Han luxury EVs, hasn’t received any prominent updates in the last few years. The brand has largely focused on its cost-friendly Ocean series, which just saw the debut of the Sealion 5 DM-i subcompact SUV. Introducing the Tang DM-i locally would reinvigorate the brand’s executive-styled lineup and offer a now familiar and trusted hybrid powertrain.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:
Confirmed: The Toyota Vios hybrid to make its debut soon
Suzuki has a pair of gorgeous new bikes: Meet the GSX-8T and GSX-8TT
From documents in BYD’s home market of China, we know that the Tang DM-i is a tad shorter in length, but gains about 70mm in ground clearance as compared to its fully electric counterpart. Seeing it drive along C5, it looks noticeably taller thanks to those extra millimeters off the ground. That height and more slender-looking body give the hybrid Tang a sportier look, especially in its camouflage wrap.
Packing a hybrid powertrain, we can expect the Tang DM-i to lose some of its electric peppiness and perform more akin to the Sealion 6 DM-i. That sub-five-second 0-100kph sprint is probably gone, but a driving range of at least 1,000km doesn’t sound like a bad trade-off.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see what the camouflaged Tang DM-i looked like up front, but at least we have photos from China to give us some idea. Given BYD Cars Philippines and ACMobility’s relentless downpour of releases, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Tang DM-i made its Philippine debut soon.
