BYD’s latest model, an ultra compact electric vehicle named Racco, debuted at the Japan Mobility Show this week, fitting into Japan’s beloved kei car category. For years, domestic giants like Nissan and Honda have dominated urban streets with vehicles little bigger than a generous sneeze, accounting for one-third of all car sales.
China loves ambition and BYD’s YangWang U8L has it in spades with size, strength and tech. This extended version of the YangWang U8 stretches the boundaries of what an electric SUV can be, combining massive power with a tech heavy interior and capabilities that are almost otherworldly. At around $181,000 it’s a premium product in China but it’s cheaper than Western luxury giants like the Bentley Bentayga or Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
Photo credit: CN EV Post
Why wait 30-minutes to 1-hour at a supercharger for 248-miles of range, when the BYD 1,000-kW ‘Megawatt’ charging station can do it in just 5-minutes? Vehicles built on the company’s ‘Super e-Platform,’ powered by blade batteries, will be compatible with these new chargers.
BYD has partnered with DJI to release Ling Yuan, a $2,200 vehicle-mounted drone system that consists of a storage compartment and an on-board positioning module handle. The included drone (DJI Air 3S) can perform a dynamic takeoff / landing while the vehicle is moving at speeds of up to 15.5 mph (25 km/h) and can follow at speeds up to 33.5 mph (54 km/h).
The Yangwang U9 is ready to take on hypercars, while the 2025 BYD Seal 06 GT aims to give the Volkswagen ID.3 a run for its money, literally. This electric hot hatch is based on BYD’s e-Platform 3.0 Evo architecture, it will be available in single motor (214 hp) and dual motor (415 hp) configurations.
It’s no ALPHA Wolf, but the 2024 BYD Shark is a plug-in hybrid pickup truck with both power and range. Power comes from a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, paired with two electric motors, that generates a combined 430 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, enabling it to hit 62 mph in 5.7 seconds.
BYD is set to release an electric pickup truck later this year to take on Ford and Toyota outside of China. No technical specifications have been revealed, although a prototype was spotted at NIO headquarters in Shanghai, which means the truck could be using the latter’s battery swapping technology.
