BYD announced it would launch its YangWang U9 supercar on February 25. It can accelerate 0-100 km/h in under 2.0 seconds, jump, tank turn, or drive on three wheels thanks to its DiSus-X body control system.
YangWang is a premium electric brand under BYD, launched in January last year. U9 is its second car, following the YangWang U8 hard-core SUV, which started deliveries in December 2023 for 1,089,000 yuan (150,000 USD). In January, U8 delivered about 1,600 units in China. BYD plans to take its most expensive car overseas, mostly likely under a different name, as the second part of the YangWang has negative connotations in English slang.
YangWang U9 supersport has quad electric motors, each with 240 kW of power, resulting in a total output of 960 kW (1,287 hp). The top speed is capped at 300 km/h. If you expected such a car to be equipped with more expensive ternary (NMC) batteries, you would be wrong, as the homologation fillings revealed that the electricity is stored in BYD’s Blade battery, which has LFP chemistry.
U9 is a two-door coupe that sits on the new e4 platform. Its dimensions are 4966/2029/1295 mm, and its wheelbase is 2900 mm. The length is in line with Audi A4 or BMW 5 Series. The EV comes with an optional carbon fiber rear spoiler. The car rides on 275/35 R21 (front) & 325/30 R21 (rear) wheels. The car has scissor doors and, based on pictures from the showroom, a pretty sizeable boot space.
The interior is typical BYD style, almost spartan, especially compared with a futuristic-looking exterior. The steering wheel has lots of physical buttons and two thick stalks. As other Chinese EV makers contest who will make more giant in-car screens or how many screens can be fitted into a car, YangWang doesn’t participate. U9 comes with three modest screens: two small ones in front of the driver and passenger and one weirdly shaped in the center console. Overall, the interior has a different vibe than most new local EVs; it is more like a 2010s legacy car, which is not necessarily bad.
BYD, which traditionally relies on the dealership model, took a different approach with its YangWan brand and built about 80 directly operated stores in China in 2023, with more to come this year. In September, CarNewsChina reported that the company is taking over stores and service centers of luxurious legacy brands such as BMW, Aston Martin, and Mercedes-Benz. In November, it opened the first batch of 22 stores in tier-one states such as Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Chengdu.
YagnWang applied for a sales license of U9 in December last year, hinting the launch is imminent. The price hasn’t been revealed yet, and we expect YangWang will do so at next week’s launch. The BYD’s invitation poster for the launch conference also revealed that U in U9’s name means Ultimat. We previously thought it meant “UP”, as YangWang Chinse’s name (仰望) means literary Look-Up.
BYD needs to significantly improve safety and quality before western buyers would consider buying their EVs. BYD vehicles frequently catch fire and otherwise break down.
BYD doesn’t provide warranty support in China. How are they going to repair defective vehicles overseas?
Tesla catch fire left and right we all heard but BYD…..hmm….
China doesn’t have a two-year warranty on industrial goods like Europe?
By law, they don’t. But cars usually comes with 4-6 year warranty or about 120k km.
not sure where you got all these bullxx info, I have 2 BYDs and both coved by the factory’s 5 year warranty including the battery. Meanwhile the BMW only offers 3 years for my IX.
Also, there are over 25m EVs in China and BYD takes the biggest share of it for sure, the fire incidents of BYD that i have seen on news are less than my fingers, way less than Tesla has, where on earth you got the fake news??
Again, just like Tik Tok and Huawei, when the Chinese brands are raising, the USA and EU are making all the lies to bring them down.
I can confirm all your statements. Plus the batteries have 8 years warranty. And it’s LFP (phosfate) techn. that doesn’t burn, as the dangerous NMC batteries does. Tesla is also switching to LFP batteries now.
Judging by your upvotes, it’s clear that this site is beehive of China troll activity. Your post confirms this, with the claim that most EVs in China are BYD EVs. The fact of the matter is that Tesla got a head start in China by several years; BYD has only recently been selling in China, so we can reliably assume that it’s Tesla’s that are mostly seen on Shanghai roads today, not BYD EVs.
That being said, everything that’s not USA-managed in China is of poor reliability. Over 40 years of painful experience with the American consumer and his Chinese trinkets proves this fact. I have come to the conclusion — being a budget-minded consumer and frequent purchaser of Chinese products — that it just isn’t possible for the Chinese to deliver a product of even adequate reliability. There is always SOMETHING in a Chinese product that leads to premature failure!
Therefore, there is no reason whatsoever to think that Chinese made vehicles will be any different. And looking at the price point of some BYD cars (super cheap), it won’t be possible for China to deliver a reliable vehicle; at least SOME funds have to be set aside to ensure the product meets reliability targets, and a $10,000 price tag is telling me that China isn’t doing it!
Lmao china makes 60% of world EVs and half of the world’s Teslas are also made in china. China controls supply chains for EV Production including lithium mining, EV parts manufacturing and account for more than 70% of EV battery manufacturing. 6 out of top 10 EV battery companies are Chinese. So it’s no wonder china has such a cost advantage over the world while the west struggles. Tesla and European automakers are dead without the Chinese market. European automakers like VW Audi Stellantis are buying EV tech from Chinese EV companies, that alone shows how the European automakers has fallen behind. Also some European automakers are building EVs in china and exporting them to Europe since china has a cost advantage that the world would never have. It seems like ignorant trolls like you make yourself clowns here. It would be nice if you do some research before say anything.
Then why don’t you buy a Tesla?
Exactly my experience also with Chinese stuff.
It’s all built to fail but American Stuff is catching up there too! Why can’t the US & CHINA cooperate together and build great stuff for a change. All we need to do is make China Democracy and we’re off to the races then!
Still looks like a Chinese product no matter how I cut it
“….. it just isn’t possible for the Chinese to deliver a product of even adequate reliability. There is always SOMETHING in a Chinese product that leads to premature failure!”
If what you are saying is true, then why aren’t we able to learn about it from the quality watchdogs?….if there are any. I find it amazing that no one seems to be keeping score. With the exception of Tesla products, I rarely see a recall of China made vehicles. Can they all be that safe, reliable, and of high quality?
Who are the overseers of quality in China anyway? I’m sure prospective buyers in Europe, and elsewhere, would love to see what the track record is, of the Chinese vehicle they are about to buy.
As for J.D. Power, since Toma Bravo’s purchase of the company, I almost never see their auto ratings picked up by the media. And in China, one would be hard pressed to name a recognized counterpart.
NOT a fan of the style. Ugly as can be