announced Thursday the first deliveries of the Tang EV in Norway, marking the start of its passenger car business' official expansion in the Nordic market, which is beginning to be contested by Chinese new energy vehicle companies.

BYD is partnering with local distributor RSA, which has more than 40 stores in Norway, to provide marketing, sales, after-sales and parts supply services.

Norway is BYD's first stop for passenger cars in the European market, and the company did not specify the number of units to be delivered but said it will ship a cumulative total of 1,500 Tang EVs to Norway during 2021.

To date, BYD has shipped more than 600 Tang EVs to Norway, with the first 100 units arriving in late July.

The Tang EV is customized in specifications to meet local regulations and local needs in Norway and is priced at 599,900 kroner ($69,093).

The model's starting price in China after subsidies is RMB 279,500 ($43,100).

It is equipped with a blade battery that is claimed to have passed the toughest pinprick test in the field of power cell safety.

It has an NEDC range of over 500 km, accelerates to 100 km in 4.6 seconds, and is equipped with Bosch IPB intelligent integrated braking system.

Its exterior inherits BYD's Dragon Face family design language, and the car features a seven-seat layout inside.

BYD's sales of new energy passenger cars in China rose 262.7 percent year-over-year to 50,057 units in July, making it the top monthly seller of new energy passenger cars in China.

(Photo source: BYD)