BYD the Chinese electric car company is rapidly expanding its lineup to include vehicles that can give competition to traditional automakers in the mass market. The EV company is ready to compete with Tesla on the premium end and Jeep in the off-road segment. BYD has unveiled three new models, including two concept cars, under its premium brand Fangchengbao as the Chinese electric vehicle giant ramps up efforts to sell into higher-priced segments.
On Tuesday, BYD unveiled its Fang Cheng Bao brand: an off-road “Leopard 8” SUV, a “Super 3″ SUV geared toward city driving and a “Super 9” sports car.
BYD concept cars
The company did not announce prices. Instead, BYD billed the vehicles mostly as concept cars and hinted further details would be released at the auto show in Beijing next week. It was not immediately clear to what extent the new cars would be fully electric.
BYD launched its Fang Cheng Bao brand last summer with a focus on “personalized needs of consumers,” particularly in off-road vehicles and sports cars. The brand’s first vehicle, a hybrid-powered off-road SUV called “Leopard 5,” launched in November with a starting price of about 290,000 yuan ($40,845).
Nearly 20,000 Leopard 5 cars have since been delivered, the company claimed Tuesday.
BYD also sells an off-road SUV and sports car under its luxury brand Yangwang, which launched early last year to target consumers willing to spend about 1 million yuan or more per car.
BYD mass market segment
Most of BYD’s cars are in the mass market segment and rank among the best-selling new energy vehicles in China. The category includes battery-only and hybrid-powered cars.
“In the past 20 years, our continuous technological innovation and disruption have set multiple benchmarks for the industry,” Lian Yubo, chief scientist at BYD, said in Mandarin during Tuesday’s launch event, according to a CNBC translation.
“The blade battery defines the benchmark for safety. DM-i set the benchmark for energy consumption, DiSus set the benchmark for total vehicle control,” Lian said, referring to various technological systems BYD has released in the last few years.
BYD technology
For off-road vehicles, Lian touted BYD technology that allows the cars to run on hybrid power.
BYD’s car launches come amid fierce competition in China’s new energy vehicle market. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi
last month released its first electric car, aimed directly at Tesla’s Model 3.
Chinese automakers including BYD also have their sights on the global market. This month, BYD announced plans to launch an electric pickup truck overseas this year.
