BYD brand Yangwang launches electric saloon
Until now, Yangwang had emphasised that it was active in the “1 million yuan class,” i.e. with vehicles priced at around 127,500 euros. However, the Yangwang saloon is now significantly cheaper. According to Chinese media reports, the five-seat version of the saloon is available from 628,000 yuan (80,055 euros at the current exchange rate) – regardless of whether it is the battery-electric drive or the plug-in hybrid. The four-seat version – with two luxurious individual seats at the rear instead of a rear bench – starts at 708,000 yuan (90,250 euros), with the price being the same for the BEV and PHEV.
With the Yangwang brand, which was presented in 2023, BYD also wants to establish itself in the luxury segment, after previously being mainly active in the volume and premium segments in the Chinese market. Yangwang will offer particularly powerful and comfortable vehicles and compete with established luxury brands. With the U7 announced a year ago, which is almost 50,000 euros cheaper than expected, BYD is also playing the price card as an important sales argument.
The U7 is a 5.27-metre-long saloon with a 3.16-metre wheelbase – at least in the BEV version; the plug-in hybrid is almost ten centimetres longer and has a 3.20-metre wheelbase. It has four individual electric motors, each with 240 kW, which results in a system output of 960 kW and a maximum torque of 1,584 Nm. The Yangwang saloon is said to be able to sprint from 0 to 100 kph in 2.9 seconds. The four individually controllable electric motors also enable features such as ‘crab walk’ or turning on the spot.
With the SiSus-Z body control system, the U7 offers a level of driving comfort that Chinese reports compare to a maglev train – as if there is no physical contact with the (bumpy) road. Since the Yangwang models are also equipped with the top version of the God’s Eye driver assistance system, three lidar units are also installed. However, these are not only used for semi-autonomous driving: the DiSuS-Z software also processes the lidar and camera data and can thus adjust the suspension to compensate for detected bumps.
Until now, there has been little data on the U7’s battery – only the fact that the kerb weight is over three tonnes suggested that the battery was relatively large. We now know that a 135.5-litre pack is installed in the BEV version, which is supposed to provide a range of 720 kilometres in the Chinese CLTC test procedure. It can be charged from 30 to 80 per cent in 20 minutes – admittedly not at up to 1,000 kW as with the BYD Han L EV. However, if two DC charging cables are used simultaneously, the U7 can charge at up to 500 kW.
The PHEV version has a 52.4 kWh battery installed, which together with the combustion engine should enable a total range of up to 1,000 kilometres. Up to 200 kilometres are possible on battery power alone, after which the two-litre combustion engine with its 60-litre tank kicks in.
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