BYD, as you might expect, has been making some big noise at the China Auto show in Beijing (or the Beijing motor show if you're feeling a bit more classical about the name). There were big new debuts for BYD itself, for its Denza luxury brand, and for Fengchangbao, its once-4x4-focused sub-brand that's now branching out unexpectedly into supercars…
Click here to read our BYD car reviews.
What were BYD's show stars?
Under its own brand, BYD was busy in Beijing showing off two very slick-looking new additions to its Seal/Sealion lineup. The first was the Seal 08 saloon, which will come in either fully electric form (with a 900km range on China's official, optimistic CLTC test) or as a plug-in hybrid. It's aiming right at the BMW i5 and Audi A6, and BYD says that it's been designed to look and feel like a 'luxury ocean-view apartment' and the dashboard even gets mother-of-pearl inlays if that's your kind of bling… sorry, you kind of thing. The front occupants get "dual zero-gravity” seats with one-button recline, while in the back, there are electric leg rests, multi-angle seatback adjustment, and a centre-armrest touchscreen. All the seats come with ventilation, heating, and massage
The top-spec four-wheel drive model should be packing as much as 650hp, but there's no word yet on European sales.
That's the case too for the Sealion 08, the SUV companion to the Seal 08 saloon, which comes with six seats spread over three rows and 21-inch alloy wheels with Rolls-Royce-style 'floating' centre caps. Both cars are compatible with BYD's new super-fast charging system, which claims to be able to recharge the battery from 10-80 per cent in five minutes and from 10-97 per cent in nine minutes.
What else was BYD showing off?
There was also a BYD concept car, called the Ocean V, which BYD calls a 'family mobile life cube' and which we would call an MPV. Think of it as a 21st-century Chinese Renault Espace. The cabin is designed to be super-minimalist, with only a steering wheel and no physical buttons. It can also convert into a mobile cinema with a fold-away screen, or into a camping mode where the seats can rotate to face one another or fold flat to make a bed.
There's also a 'Glowing Jellyfish Kit.' Yes, really - this is a series of magnetically detachable speakers and lights allowing you to move sound and vision anywhere you want to in the cabin.
What did Denza bring to the show?
Denza, which is BYD's premium brand (well, ONE of its premium brands…), has just launched in Europe with the electric or hybrid Z9 GT, but at Beijing it revealed the new Denza Z - an indulgent four-seat convertible sports car, designed to take on the likes of the Ferrari Amalfi and the Maserati GranCabrio.
As well as being a rather gorgeous convertible, with definite Italianate design overtones, the Z is also packing DiSus-M, an intelligent magnetorheological (electro-magnetic) body-control system engineered specifically to cope with what BYD calls "shattering high performance” - more than 1,000hp and a 0-100km/h time of less than two seconds. You might need a wet wipe or two for the gorgeous interior after that…
The Denza Z has been testing at the famed Nurburgring race track and will get a European debut at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed. It too can use BYD's new Flash 5min/9min chargers.
Click here to read our Denza car reviews.
What did you mean by 'ONE of the premium brands…'
Well, BYD has a bit of an embarrassment of premium brands at this point. As well as Denza, which is theoretically its BMW-Audi-Mercedes-Lexus rival, there's also Yangwang, which is the brand behind the wild U9 electric hypercar (which has been busy of late setting EV speed records - 496.22km/h since you're asking) and the U8 SUV, the one that can actually float and swim about in deep water.
However, while Yangwang was showing off updated versions of the U8 and U9 in Beijing, the focus was more on Fengchangbao, which now must surely count as BYD's third premium brand.
So far, Fengchangbao has focused on making SUVs and 4x4s - indeed, its rugged hybrid-engined B8 model will come to Europe later this year as a rival to the Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Rover Defender, but it will be badged as a Denza - but at Beijing, that was blown out of the water by the Formula X and Formula S.
OK, what are they?
The Formula X is… well, it's a wild electric supercar which looks like a front-mid-engined car (think of an Anime update of the Mercedes-McLaren SLR) with Lamborghini-style doors and carbon-fibre bodywork. Power comes from a three-motor electric setup developing 1,104hp (likely closely related to that of the Denza Z), and it can theoretically accelerate from 0-100km/h in around two seconds. Incredibly, Fengchangbao says it's not a show pony - this is going into production.
Alongside it on the stand was the new Formula S series of models - these are sleek, low-slung models, also offered in electric or hybrid form, which can be had as a five-door fastback, a sleek estate, or a larger, more luxurious saloon. They're all designed to rival the combined Porsche Taycan and Panamera lineups and again feature the clever DiSus-M magnetic suspension setup and more than 1,000hp.
Will these models come to Europe too?
That's… less clear. We know that Fengchangbao's 4x4 models will come to Europe, re-badged as Denzas, but the Formula S models look too similar in design and concept for them to easily sit alongside the existing Denza Z9 GT. Put them in the 'maybe' pile.