BYD is a multinational Chinese automobile manufacturer of cars, buses, trucks, forklifts, electric bicycles, and electric batteries. Senior executives at BYD identified a problem that needed an urgent fix. The company does not have a luxury brand in its vast product portfolio. The Chinese do not waste time nor do they wait for anyone they just go for it, and if it fails then so be it. And so BYD has launched the YangWang brand which will make luxury electric supercars and electric SUVs.

Admittedly the YangWang brand doesn’t instantly sound as elitist as Rolls Royce or as established as BMW or as dynamic as Porsche. But we have to give the Chinese credit for being bold. By comparison, Land Rover has been using the echo chamber to virtue signal about its forthcoming electric SUV, for the past 5 years and counting.

While Land Rover continues to stumble and drag its feet, BYD AKA YangWang is venturing towards a pure electric horizon. So, the YangWang U8 was revealed the other week, few technical details were revealed. One assumes the YangWang U8 will have the latest electric car battery technology, 4×4 capability etc.

The YangWang U8 will be built on a ladder frame chassis. Propulsion will be provided by 4-electric motors. No details on battery size, we estimate it will be beyond 100kWh and yield a minimum range of 400 miles on a single superfast charge. Total system power is expected to be around 1,100 bhp with torque to match. The 0-62mph time takes just 3 seconds.

While BYD refused to disclose information about vehicle specs, we did spot three Lidar arrays mounted on the roof, which means the YangWang U8 will have advanced autonomous driving capabilities. The estimated price for the Chinese-only U8 will start from around $145,000.