BYD is launching its most expensive sedan outside China first. Yangwang released a teaser on Weibo naming the car Altior, from the Latin for "higher", and Dingyao (鼎曜) at home, paultan.org reports.
What's known
- The teaser shows rear-hinged coach doors, a roof-mounted lidar sensor and a front end styled after the Yangwang U8. paultan.org says Yangwang reviewed more than 100 front-end designs.
- On Oct. 30, CarNewsChina published the first uncamouflaged photo of the front, which BYD Fan Club had shared on WeChat. It shows a large blacked-out grille and ding-inspired running lights on a bronze body.
- Reported dimensions are about 5,500 mm long with a wheelbase of about 3,350 mm. Neither is confirmed by BYD. CNC expects hydraulic suspension and four electric motors.
- paultan.org says the car is tipped to cost around 2 million yuan in China. It also notes Autohome earlier reported the Altior would be BYD's first car with a solid-state battery. Neither claim is confirmed.
Yangwang already sells in the UAE through distributor Al-Futtaim. CNC, citing China EV DataTracker, says Yangwang delivered 3,251 vehicles from January to September, up 38.9%. CNC also reports that the U9 Xtreme will try for more than 500 km/h in the UAE in November.
Why it matters
A Gulf-first launch shows BYD aiming its top brand at buyers abroad. In the same week, BYD reported 170,194 exports in October.