Yangwang U8

The Yangwang U8 is a full-size luxury SUV manufactured by BYD Auto under the Yangwang brand. The U8 is Yangwang's first vehicle, and was introduced on Auto Guangzhou in January 2023. It is an electric vehicle with a petrol engine acting as a range extender.

Overview
The U8 was first presented on 5 January 2023 at the Guangzhou Auto Show. Sales of the SUV began on 18 April in China. Pricing was announced in 20 September 2023. At 1,089,000 RMB, the U8 Premium Edition was most expensive Chinese mass-produced electric car at the time of its introduction, until it was surpassed by the Yangwang U9 supercar in February 2024 at 1,680,000 RMB. The U8 will also be available in a Off-road Master Edition that is equipped with off-road additions, such as a remodelled front bumper, a snorkel and detachable roof rack with a side ladder.

Specifications
The U8 features BYD's proprietary "e4" (易四方) individual wheel drive (IWD) technology, It is the world’s first exclusive intelligent hydraulic body control system for new energy off-road vehicles. with four separate electric motors each propelling a single wheel. This technology allows the traction control system to redistribute torque and maintain stability of the vehicle in the case of a tyre puncture at speed. It also allows the U8 to use differential steering and perform a 180-degree "tank turn" in tight spots by having the left and right wheels spinning in opposite directions. During the media release event in early 2023, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu personally drove a Mecanum-wheeled demo vehicle sideways onto the stage. According to the developers, the new electronically controlled all-wheel drive system is 100 times faster than a conventional all-wheel drive system.

The basic U8 has Disus-P (云辇-P) active suspension with the capacity to increase the ground clearance by 15 cm. Being an off-road vehicle, the U8 Premium Edition is capable of wading in a maximum depth of 1000 mm, while the Off-road Master Edition can wade up to 1400 mm, being equipped with a snorkel. It also has limited ability to sail on water, although BYD discourages owners to do so as it is only meant as an emergency escape feature for disaster situations like flash floods, and owners must take its vehicle to a service centre for inspection afterwards. When the vehicle detected higher water depth than the wading limit, it will activate an emergency floating mode. In this mode, the vehicle will shut down its petrol engine, the Disus-P system will raise the suspension to the maximum level, the windows will be closed automatically, the air conditioner will be switched to internal circulation mode, and the sunroof will open to provide an emergency exit. It is capable of staying afloat for 30 minutes and move forward at 3 km/h. Approach, departure, breakover angles of 36.5°, 35.4° and 25.5° respectively. RTI of 600.

Its dashboard is embedded with three screens, which include a 23.6-inch instrument panel screen for the driver, a vertical 12.8-inch central control infotainment screen, and another 23.6-inch infotainment screen for the front passenger. Two screens are mounted to the back of the front seats for the rear passengers, and another screen is mounted on the console between the rear seats. The driver is supplemented with a 70-inch augmented reality head-up display and 22 Dynaudio-branded speakers. Other in-car technologies include three mobile phone wireless chargers, a thermographic camera and an integrated satellite phone. Center console has built-in compressor fridge, freezer, heater capable of maintaining temperatures between -6 and 50°C.

The U8 uses the Nvidia Drive Orin system-on-a-chip (SoC) for its Level 2 advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS), with a computational power of 508 TOPS. Input are supplied from 38 sensors around the vehicle, including 3 lidars, 13 cameras, 12 ultrasonic radars, and 5 millimeter wave radars.

Powertrain
The U8 is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbo petrol engine that is not connected to the wheels, thus making it an electric range extended vehicle. It charges a 49.05 kWh battery, that in turn powers four 220 kW traction electric motors for a total output of 880 kW. Its maximum range is listed as 1000 km with a full 75-litre petrol tank and full battery on the CLTC cycle. Top speed is limited to 200 km/h, and 0–100 km/h acceleration is claimed at 3.6 seconds.

The U8 supports DC fast charging up to 110 kW, with BYD claiming a 30–80% charging duration in 18 minutes. It is also capable of supplying 6 kW discharge through the vehicle-to-load capability.

Marketing and sales
Since the U8's public debut at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2023, as of 6 October 2023, Yangwang U8 has received approximately 4,000 orders in China.

The U8 is slated to be exported by BYD, with BYD Australia confirming the U8 has been locked in for introduction in Australia.

The U8 had its European premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show 2024. However, the availability of the model in European markets has not been confirmed.