The Yuan Up will be the newest member of BYD's Yuan family, which sold 428,580 units in 2023 and contributed 14 percent of BYD's sales.
(Image credit: BYD)
BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDF) is starting to warm up for a new all-electric SUV whose compact size suggests that prices will be affordable.
Called the Yuan Up, the model will be the latest addition to BYD's Yuan family, according to a Weibo post by the new energy vehicle (NEV) maker today.
"As the first A0-class SUV on the e-Platform 3.0, the Yuan Up is coming," BYD wrote.
The e-Platform 3.0 is BYD's battery electric vehicle (BEV) technology platform, unveiled on April 19, 2021 and officially launched in September 2021.
The platform is compatible with models of different sizes, the first of which is the compact BYD Dolphin, which went on sale on August 29, 2021.
The A0 segment usually refers to those with a wheelbase between 2.2 and 2.5 meters. BYD categorizes both the Dolphin and the Yuan Plus in the A0 class, though they are larger than the class.
The Dolphin measures 4,125 mm in length, 1,770 mm in width and 1,570 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,700 mm.
BYD hasn't announced the dimensions of the Yuan Up, but a previous regulatory filing show that the model has a length, width and height of 4,310 mm, 1,830 mm and 1,675 mm respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,620 mm.
This means that the Yuan Up will be bigger than the Dolphin, but with a slightly shorter wheelbase.
The BYD Dolphin's current starting price ranges from RMB 116,800 ($16,240) to RMB 139,800.
The Yuan Up, being similar in size to the Dolphin, will likely also aim for a price in the RMB 100,000 to RMB 150,000 range.
The Yuan Up will be powered by a single motor, which comes in two options with peak power of 70-kW and 130-kW, according to a regulatory filing in December.
The model weighs 1,430 kg, 1,520 kg, and 1,540 kg in three versions and supports speeds up to 160 km/h.
BYD's Yuan family currently includes the Yuan Plus and Yuan Pro, both of which are BEVs with starting price ranges of RMB 135,800 to RMB 163,800 and RMB 95,800 to RMB 113,800, respectively.
Released in February 2022, the Yuan Plus is BYD's first global model and is already available in many overseas markets.
BYD sold a record 341,043 NEVs in December, including 340,178 passenger cars and 865 commercial vehicles, according to figures it announced earlier this month.
The Yuan family sold 41,681 units in December, up 41.44 percent year-on-year while down 1.52 percent from November.
In 2023, Yuan family models sold 428,580 units, up 87.14 percent year-on-year, contributing 14 percent of BYD's annual NEV sales of 3,024,417 units, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
Below are the regulatory filing images for the BYD Yuan Up.
($1 = RMB 7.1934)
