BYD expands premium lineup with new Great Han flagship EV

Chinese vehicle manufacturer BYD is almost ready to launch its first D-class flagship sedan under its popular Dynasty series. Lu Tian, the general manager of the sales division for the Dynasty lineup, published the first official images of the new premium vehicle. Internally known as the Great Han, or Han 9, this model is the company's latest push to win over luxury car buyers globally.

The auto manufacturer picked the name after a public crowdsourcing campaign. BYD shared six candidate options with its user community, and "Great Han" won by some margin. The new sedan will be a direct sibling to the upcoming Great Tang flagship SUV. Both premium EVs have a difficult job to do - to elevate the brand beyond its traditional mass-market reputation and secure a stronger foothold in the high-profit luxury segment.

The exterior design of the Great Han is all about elegant, sweeping proportions. The new EV has an elongated body and an extended wheelbase to maximize interior room. From the side, the roofline slopes downward starting at the B-pillar, creating a smooth fastback shape. The front end shares design traits with the smaller Han L model, with a prominent horizontal trim piece that connects the headlights. The rear bumper gets a unique look, and a full-width taillight assembly completes the back of the car.

The cabin will borrow heavily from the premium environment of the Great Tang SUV - drivers will find a familiar steering wheel design alongside a premium dashboard setup focused on comfort and digital connectivity. High-end variants come equipped with a roof-mounted LiDAR system, which supports advanced intelligent driving assistance systems, giving the sedan full-scenario smart driving capabilities.

BYD plans to offer the Great Han in both plug-in hybrid and pure electric variants. The pure electric cars run on the company's second-generation Blade Battery. This LFP battery pairs with a high-voltage architecture to allow megawatt-level ultra-fast flash charging.

Buyers can choose between two main configurations: Flagship Edition has an all-wheel-drive system and a LiDAR sensor, delivering a driving range of 547 miles, and the Exclusive Edition gets a rear-wheel-drive setup and a LiDAR sensor, achieving a record driving range of 626 miles.

The EV is scheduled for an official market launch in the third quarter of this year. BYD hopes the new sedan will perform better than the smaller Han L sedan, which struggles a lot in China, with April sales dropping 69.5% year-on-year to just over 1,000 units.

The arrival of the Great Han is critical for the financial health of the Chinese manufacturer. Intense price wars and rising supply chain costs caused a sharp decline in net profits for BYD during the first quarter. To turn things around, the company relies heavily on the success of these new flagship models.

Fortunately, overall company sales show encouraging signs of improvement. BYD reached a wholesale volume of 383,453 new energy vehicles in May, which is a minor year-on-year increase of 0.26%. This small growth successfully ended an eight-month streak of declining sales. The latest sales report revealed that the brand kept its market leadership with 376,990 units sold in May.

The strong market reception for the Great Tang SUV bodes well for the upcoming sedan. The premium SUV officially launches in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, in mid-June. Pre-sales for the SUV began in late April, with prices starting at RMB 250,000 ($36,970) and rising to RMB 320,000 ($47,320) for the top configuration.

Buyers responded enthusiastically, placing over 30,000 orders within the first 24 hours. Total pre-orders surpassed 100,000 units in the first two weeks. The SUV has a maximum pure electric range of 590 miles. It also shares the same second-generation battery tech and 1,000V charging system as the sedan.

The primary growth driver for the brand is now coming from outside of China. Overseas sales hit a record 160,644 units in May - a massive 80.40% surge compared to the previous year. At the same time, factory assembly lines are overcoming previous production slowdowns. The bottleneck caused by upgrading factories to build the second-generation Blade Battery finally eased in May. With the factory upgrades complete, the automaker expects monthly sales figures to rise steadily through the rest of the year.

Via