[RahulNagaraj]

BYD has launched YangWang - a new luxury EV brand, which aims to take on the likes of Mercedes-Benz, BMW & Audi.

The new car brand has unveiled two new luxury EVs: U8 & U9. The U8 is said to be a rugged off-roader, while the second model is said to be an electric supercar.



Starting with the YangWang U8, the electric SUV is said to be built on a ladder-frame chassis and comes with four electric motors - one on each axle. The electric powertrain on the U8 SUV is said to be capable of producing over 1100 BHP and around 1627 Nm. The U8 electric SUV is said to offer advanced torque vectoring, comes with run-flat tyres, is able to do tank turns, has a crab mode and also offers high water-wading capabilities thanks to its waterproof and sealed body. YangWang also claims that the U8 is capable of sprinting from 0 - 100 km/h in 3 seconds.



The YangWang U8 4x4 electric SUV is said to measure 5,300 mm in length with a wheelbase of 3,050 mm. Once launched, the SUV is expected to have a starting price of one million Yuan (US$ 145,000), putting it in direct competition with the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQG & the all-electric Land Rover Defender.

The second offering in YangWang's lineup is the U9 supercar. The electric supercar offering from the new car brand is said to feature LED lighting all around, low-slung styling and a central shark fin at the rear. The YangWang U9 will also come with a quad motor setup, producing a combined output of 1288 BHP, allowing for a claimed 0 - 100 km/h acceleration in just 2 seconds. The U9 supercar will also be priced at around US$145,000.

The company is yet to announce whether or not the new EVs will be available outside China.

Source: CarNewsChina

Link to Team-BHP news

[LaRoca]

I can only imagine the quantum leaps made by China in the evolution of the EV space! Kudos to their manufacturing prowess and in-house R&D backed by a robust and reliable supply chain and a huge market. Very few or no other countries have all this going right as does China! What a remarkable growth. This is how a nation ought to evolve.

We have a lot of catching up to do. I mean a lot!

[GTO]

BYD is a GIANT in the electric vehicle space. They sold like 18-lakh plug-in cars last year (almost equal split between EVs & PHEVs). In terms of EV tech, they are years ahead of traditional stalwarts like Toyota & Honda.

But clearly, BYD doesn't have a clue about branding. Who the hell wants to drive a luxury car called "YangWang" . Almost a joke. They should hire the marketing team of SAIC; see how brilliantly SAIC acquired MG and uses them to brand its cars.

[pkulkarni.2106]

Boy! Not sure about the rest of the car, but the front looks wacky for both the cars, especially for the price. I think these can safely be posted in our weird and wacky mod jobs thread

Originally Posted by GTO

But clearly, BYD doesn't have a clue about branding. Who the hell wants to drive a luxury car called "YangWang" . Almost a joke.

You stole my thoughts. Forget about buying a luxury car, people in India wouldn't buy an entry-level hatchback with that brand name

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by GTO

But clearly, BYD doesn't have a clue about branding. Who the hell wants to drive a luxury car called "YangWang" . Almost a joke. They should hire the marketing team of SAIC; see how brilliantly SAIC acquired MG and uses them to brand its cars.

So damn right! This brand name wont look out of place on a cheap Chinese calculator? How can they be so clever and yet get it so wrong? You have to wonder what was wrong with BYD because it already sounds better than what they came up with.

Originally Posted by LaRoca

I can only imagine the quantum leaps made by China in the evolution of the EV space! Kudos to their manufacturing prowess and in-house R&D backed by a robust and reliable supply chain and a huge market. Very few or no other countries have all this going right as does China! What a remarkable growth. This is how a nation ought to evolve.

We have a lot of catching up to do. I mean a lot!

I might sound like a pessimist but I dont think we ever will. Our government neither has the foresight nor the single minded focus of the Chinese. EV's were a golden opportunity for India to make its mark in the global automotive landscape which we currently cannot do with the traditional ICE auto industry given how brand driven it is and the sheer amount of competition. You dont have to just better, you have to be 10 times better and at a cost and even then the chances of success are remote.

[SKC-auto]

Sounds like "YangWang soupy noodles". One thing they made it right though, their front barbecue grill is bigger than the BMW designed chinese specific double barbecue grills.

[shobhit.shri]

Originally Posted by GTO

But clearly, BYD doesn't have a clue about branding. Who the hell wants to drive a luxury car called "YangWang"

On the other hand, this might be their coming-of-age party. They already have an English name - BYD stands for "Build Your Dream" - and now want to assert their Chinese roots with an experimental launch. after all, Mitsubishi must have been a strange-sounding name once!

[bullitt1]

My parents watch Sai series on tv, reminds of characters santa-banta. Such a terrible name.

[SR-71]

They could learn a thing or two on the design front from the Germans. IMHO their offerings look gaudy and bling... And what's with that name!

[shree_shell]

Yang and Wang are two surnames in Mainland and surrounding regions of China which are literally synonymous to words like - “king”, “royalty”, “prosperity”, “rule”. There may be more than just these. Yes, they sound interesting to us, but BYD may be well aware of their target market (China and other East Asian countries).

They can just rebrand and enter other markets like India and Europe. Or buy another dying Euro brand and sell under that umbrella (like MG).

[SmartCat]

I have a couple of brand name recommendations if Tata/M&M decides to go premium:

TOOFANI AAG
ZEHREELA PATAAKA

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by shree_shell

Yes, they sound interesting to us, but BYD may be well aware of their target market (China and other East Asian countries).

They can just rebrand and enter other markets like India and Europe. Or buy another dying Euro brand and sell under that umbrella (like MG).

Originally Posted by shobhit.shri

after all, Mitsubishi must have been a strange-sounding name once!

In fact, I too liked the idea (not the particular name) of using a vernacular word for branding. History shows the success of Japanese brands (1940-60s) with English/Latin names is more or less equal to those with Japanese names. Example: Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Casio, Mazda, Bridgestone etc were successful but so are Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Yokohama, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru and Honda.

Come to Korea (1960-80s), the original name of LG was lucky Goldstar; other than that almost all other big guys are Korean-named. OTOH, the Malaysian Proton and Taiwanese Asus, Gigabyte, HTC (all English names) were either moderate successes or lead players in a niche industry only.

Come to 2000s, the chances of a non-Western name getting household-level recognition is still there, but difficult. Example: Ubuntu and Etihad. Still Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Tesla and now TikTok and Discord win hands down.

[shobhit.shri]

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

In fact, I too liked the idea (not the particular name) of using a vernacular word for branding. History shows the success of Japanese brands (1940-60s) with English/Latin names is more or less equal to those with Japanese names. Example: Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Casio, Mazda, Bridgestone etc were successful but so are Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Yokohama, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru and Honda.

There is also a hint of mental conditioning here. While we look up to Italian names like "Ferrari Testarossa" and "Lamborghini Countach", Indian or Chinese names do not sound cool enough. I think the Chinese are now well past the stigma of producing cheap, low-quality stuff, so don't need the crutches of western sounding names anymore. They only need a few years of advertising to normalize it, like the way they did with TikTok.

I heard an interesting story about it though. Mr. Haveli Ram actually started the electrical appliances company "Havells". But since no one would buy from "Haveli", he changed to "Havells" to give the impression that it's from some western country. Same with IFB

[harshaguduru]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

BYD has launched YangWang - a new luxury

Didnt know DC joined BYD

[G20Rider]

Regarding the branding, I believe this is meant for the Chinese domestic market. From what I’ve read, Chinese manufacturers seems to have the same problem that indian manufacturers face in luxury segment, Unable to create the brand recall the German trio commands. This is probably their crack at competing with the Germans in the huge luxury segment in Chinese market. And who knows, with the rise of nationalistic jingoism in China these days (US and many other countries as well), these Chinese sounding name might appeal to the local consumers.

They most probably will have a different brand name if this is introduced to western markets.

Originally Posted by LaRoca

I can only imagine the quantum leaps made by China in the evolution of the EV space! Kudos to their manufacturing prowess and in-house R&D backed by a robust and reliable supply chain and a huge market.

You stole my thoughts there. Not just India, Chinese has huge leg up compared to rest of the world world in EV space. With the huge numbers of EVs being sold in Chinese market, they can get better feedback and refine them further.

I guess rest of the world should be grateful to Elon Musk for literally forcing the western manufacturers to embrace and invest in EV.