The Tesla Model Y may be the world’s best-selling car, but it’s BYD as a whole that sits at the top of the global EV sales race. To build on that, the Chinese automaker is branching out in different segments to challenge even more legacy auto manufacturers.
That said, its latest product isn’t exactly going to be a volume model. Aimed right at the luxury end of the market is the BYD YangWang U7, a full-size luxury sedan. It’s gunning for a segment that’s long been the turf of the German automakers. BMW and Mercedes-Benz, in particular.
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The YangWang U7 measures 5,265mm long, 1,998mm wide, and 1,517mm tall with a wheelbase of 3,160mm. With numbers like that, it puts U7 right in the company of the BMW i7 and Mercedes-Benz EQS. If anything, the size is a bold statement from BYD, signaling its intention to be taken seriously even at the higher end of the market.
Of course, size alone doesn’t define a luxury car, especially a flagship sedan. Unfortunately, there are no official photos of it just yet. But with a price tag of over RMB 1,000,000 (P8,000,000++), we’re expecting nothing but some of the finest materials and plushest trims in there. A myriad of high-tech features are also to be expecting, along with a multitude of screens at the front and rear.
The YangWang U7 rides on what BYD calls its DiSus-Z suspension. To oversimplify it, it’s an advanced for of active suspension that replaces traditional dampers for electric motors. It’s claimed to ride and handle even better than cars equipped with magnetic dampers.
It’s also equipped with semi-autonomous driving capabilities. That’s thanks to LiDar sensors, radars, and a barrage of cameras on board the car. Yangawang calls it the TianShen system.
Then we get to the powertrain. It packs a whopper of a battery with a capacity of 135.5kWh. It then provides juice to four electric motors to give it a claimed total output of 1,300hp. We suspect that it’s all-wheel drive given the number of motors it has. Factory figures say this 3,000kg+ electric luxury sedan can do the 0 to 100kph sprint in 2.9 seconds, all the way to a top speed of 270kph. As for range, it can get up to 800km on a single charge, at least under the China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle or CLTC.
