Four premieres at the Geneva Motor Show 2024: Chinese giant BYD sets off SUV fireworks

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Although the list of absences is long due to the 100th anniversary of the Geneva Motor Show (February 28 – March 3), one brand cannot be abandoned: BYD. True to the company’s motto of “Build Your Dreams”, the Chinese mega-company, which is also developing in Europe, is really making a big impact at the Geneva fair. The soon-to-be world’s largest electric car manufacturer (No. 2 behind Tesla in 2023) is hitting the Palexpo showrooms with four world and European premieres.

BYD has launched six different electric vehicles since its launch on the European market in autumn 2022: compact SUV Atto 3, compact five-door Dolphin, sports sedan Seal, family SUV Seal U and top-end models Han (sedan) and Tang (SUV). The plug-in version of the Seal U, DM-i, which will be available in Europe from March (market launch in Switzerland is expected in summer 2024), will be shown in Geneva in addition to an electric motor (197 hp). /325 Nm) has a gasoline engine (109 HP/135 Nm). Thanks to the 18.3 kWh battery, the fully electric range will be around 100 kilometers. BYD is also introducing a revised version of its luxury SUV Tang, which will in the future have a fast charging function, a larger battery with a range of up to 530 kilometers and more power.

Big, bigger, Yangwang U8

BYD premium brand Yangwang’s stand is two sizes larger than Tang, which is 4.87 meters long. The 5.32 meter long luxury off-road vehicle U8 celebrates its European premiere here. Not only does the giant statue on wheels look like a tank, but the propulsion technology is actually supposed to allow for tank pirouettes, a 360-degree turning maneuver in place. This is made possible by four individually controllable electric motors, which together have a system output of almost 1200 hp.

And as if that wasn’t enough, the U8, especially in its rugged off-road enthusiast version, can even master water crossings up to 1.40 meters deep and can therefore be considered an amphibious vehicle. But the U8 is not a fully electric vehicle, it has plug-in hybrid drive: if the 49 kWh battery is empty (range up to 200 km), the two-litre petrol engine jumps to the side and provides electricity to all vehicles. Another 800 kilometers. It is not yet known when and at what prices the Yangwang U8 will be released in Europe. In China it currently starts at around 140,000 francs.

Finally, BYD is introducing two new models of the Denza sub-brand, which it established together with Mercedes in 2010. On the one hand, the plug-in hybrid minivan D9, which was introduced at the IAA in Munich in the autumn, and on the other hand, the sporty, luxury crossover N7, which is expected to travel approximately 700 kilometers with its 91 kWh power. battery.

Source: Blick