BYD has confirmed that it will launch a new premium brand by the end of this year and the first model set to be priced above 1 million yuan ($146,000), according to state-run China Securities Journal, quoting a BYD spokesperson.
“The premium brand is tentatively scheduled to be launched by the end of this year, when it will debut its first hardcore off-road model priced at more than RMB 1 million,” the report said.
The premium brand is targeting the million yuan market and will use BYD’s most cutting-edge automotive technology, dedicated to bringing consumers an unprecedented new experience of ultimate performance, the report said. It will have new and independent teams in terms of brand, products, sales and service network, and operations, it said.
Earlier on Thursday, Chinese news outlet Yicai, citing unnamed sources, reported that BYD will launch a new premium brand in the fourth quarter with models starting from more than 1 million yuan.
The company’s executives had previously said that its new premium brand would have a price range of 800,000 – 1.5 million yuan, but BYD has raised the starting price to more than 1 million yuan, the report said.
The premium brand is scheduled to be launched at the end of this year, when it will debut its first hardcore off-road model, the report said.
The premium brand will have new and separate teams for products, sales and service network, and operations, and the first model will be mass-produced and sold in the first quarter of 2023, the report said.