BYD’s high-end brand, Fang Cheng Bao (FCB), announced in August it is building 100 stores in 60 cities in China. Recently, pictures of nearly finished FCB’s showrooms started to pop out on Chinese social networks, pointing out that many took over the space from premium automakers.
Chinese media outlet Zaker reported that the new Fang Cheng Bao showroom on Boutique Street in Jiaxing, about one hour drive from Shanghai, is a former store and service center of Mercedes-Benz. Another FCB’s store is nearly finished on Jingsi Road in Jinan, a former Aston Martin flagship showroom.
Italian brands are not spared – another Fang Cheng Bao store is under construction in the Shunde district, about an hour’s drive from Guangzhou city center. Before, it was the store and service center of Maserati.
Aside from taking over stores and service centers of legacy automakers, Fang Cheng Bao is building many showrooms in shipping malls – a trendy move among new EV brands in China. If you visit a mall in any tier 1 or tier 2 Chinese city, you will be surprised how many showcased cars you find on-site. Some showrooms are also built on former BMW spaces.
Fang Cheng Bao Bao 5 is one of three new premium brands under BYD. It is positioned under YangWang and above Denza.
The first car, Bao 5 (Leopard 5), was unveiled in August. It is a PHEV SUV with 680 hp and a price in the range of 300k – 400k yuan (41k – 55k USD). It sits on the DMO platform (dual motor offroad) and can accelerate 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds.
Fang Cheng Bao has two more cars in the pipeline: the Bao 8, a hard-core SUV, and the mysterious Bao 3.
Recently, Bao 5 specs were revealed by MIIT fillings. The dimensions are smaller than expected (L/W/H) 4890(4930)/1970 mm/1920 mm, and the wheelbase is 2650 mm. It has 1.5T ICE with 143 kW power. The front electric motor has 200 kW, and the rear adds another 285 kW.
The delivery will start by the end of the year, according to BYD. The official launch and final price weren’t announced; we expect it to be in October.
Hope BYD won’t aim at chasing them all out.
Subaru is gone, Suzuki is gone, Infinity is gone, Luxgen is gone, Fiat is gone, Peugeot is almost gone.
If all the foreign nameplates disappear its going to be one awful boring market, for a Chinese consumer who wants to make a statement of independence, by the car he drives.
I gather in today’s Chinese auto scene, “statement of independence” no longer equals foreignness. While the big boys (the Germans plus a dash of Japanese) have some exotic offerings, the brands you listed had focused almost exclusively on the most mundane family cars in China. A petty statement if a Chinese person’s independence in 2023 can only manifest itself by driving an Infiniti Q50 2.0T that hadn’t been updated since 2014. Another example is Subaru: Chinese auto fans have long hoped for the Levorg, the WRX or even just a no-frills Impreza, but all Subaru bothered had never been far beyond an “all new” 2.0-liter Forester that starts at $35,000.
On a side note, Tesla is becoming one of the run-of-the-mill EV brand in China. People who have little knowledge about the EV scene but are looking for one nonetheless will choose the Model Y – likely a white one – like they do with the iPhone. It’s now the “standard” car for the quasi-luxury segment, which currently seems way more monotonous than the lower end BYD is trying to dominate.
If you wonder why Chinese automakers keep pushing new brands: they plan to cheat on people. Fang Cheng Bao will give warranty under new brand, not under BYD. If new brand bankrupts in 2-3 years the owners will be left with nothing. Same goes with Geely’s Zeekr and other “brands”. It’s a pure scam.