BYD is set to be the first Chinese automaker to enter the ultra-premium car segment in Europe with the launch of its Yangwang-branded vehicles, which will put the company in direct competition with the likes of Bentley, Porsche, and Ferrari in their home territory. Speaking to British magazine Autocar on Monday, BYD vice president Stella Li avoided providing explicit details about the plan, but revealed that the top-line sales could start after BYD begins selling its mainstream luxury Denza electric vehicles in the region early next year. The Yangwang U8 sports utility vehicle and the U9 supercar, priced from nearly RMB 1.1 million and RMB 1.7 million ($153,100 and $234,200) in China, respectively, incorporate BYD’s most advanced technologies, such as a quad-motor EV drivetrain as well as a new body control suspension system. Such technologies allow the U8 off-roader to do a tank turn—a 360-degree spin on its own axis—and the U9 sports car to jump over potholes and even perform dance moves in traffic. [TechNode reporting, Autocar]
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