The Yangwang Altior, the new all-electric flagship sedan from BYD’s luxury brand, made its world debut in Abu Dhabi on November 7. Known as the Dingyao in China, the car was named and teased last month. It’s aimed at the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class.
The car was shown at Emirates Palace during Yangwang’s first brand event outside China. BYD’s press release gives the Altior’s dimensions and equipment, but not its power output, battery capacity or price.
The name Altior comes from the Latin word for “higher”. On Weibo, Yangwang said the car blends “unique Eastern heritage and cutting-edge technology”.
Its shape is based on the ding, the ancient Chinese bronze cauldron that also inspired the U8 SUV, and BYD says the design took three years to develop. BYD executive vice-president Stella Li said the Altior has “luxury in every fibre and power in its soul” and “represents our vision for the future of Chinese luxury”.
Design
The Altior is 5,600 mm long, 2,030 mm wide and 1,590 mm tall, with a 3,500 mm wheelbase. From the side, there’s a short front overhang, a long rear overhang and a separate triangular window in the C-pillar, and twin character lines run for 4.8 metres along the body.
The front end has the Yangwang family look. The grille is made up of individually polished and placed elements that BYD likens to high jewellery, framing the brand’s oracle-bone-script emblem. Twelve lighting elements at the front rotate and light up in sequence, from the outside in, as the owner approaches. There’s a lidar sensor on the roof above the windscreen.
The front doors open to 80 degrees and the rear-hinged rear doors to 90 degrees, and there are umbrellas stored in the doors.
The launch car is painted champagne with a black upper section. There are three 21-inch wheel designs (multi-spoke, polished disc and fully covered), all on 275/45 tyres.
Interior
Inside, there are four seats, and the two in the back are zero-gravity seats with massage. A one-touch relaxation mode reclines them, raises the leg rests, closes the sun blinds and dims the lights.
Rear passengers get 354 mm of knee room and 1,209 mm of legroom. The front passenger seat folds forward at one touch to clear the view for the person sitting behind.
Other equipment includes a 39-speaker Dynaudio Platinum Evidence sound system with tweeters that rotate and rise when the car is started, a powered 21.4-inch overhead screen, and fridges in the front and rear. The 5.5-litre rear fridge can also keep things warm.
The air vents are trimmed in yellow Hetian jade, the upholstery has Suzhou embroidery and the switches are real metal. The official film also shows a crystal-topped rotary controller. Boot space is 532 litres.
Powertrain and technology
The Altior uses BYD’s e4 platform, which is also found in the U8 and the U9 supercar. Its four independently controlled motors adjust the torque at each wheel more than 100 times per second, which BYD says helps keep the car stable after a high-speed tyre blowout. It can also spin on the spot (tank turn) and has an emergency flotation function in case it ends up in water.
Body control comes from the next-generation DiSus fully active suspension, which reads the road ahead and adjusts in real time.
It’s also the first car with BYD’s own 4 nm Xuanji A3 driver-assistance chip, which runs the God’s Eye A system. That system offers navigation assistance on motorways and city streets, can guide the car from one parking space to another, and includes parking assistance.
The battery is a second-generation Blade unit with more than 1,000 km of range on the CLTC cycle, rather than the solid-state battery that Autohome reported when camouflaged images of the car were shared in September. It supports BYD’s Flash Charging, and BYD says more technical details and charging specifications will be announced separately.
Editions and price
The Altior will be offered in Executive and Bespoke editions. The first Bespoke model is the Shanhe Dingyun, inspired by the image of mountains and rivers held within a ding, with a brown and gold exterior and a jade-inspired interior.
BYD only says it’s a limited run, but the sill plate in the official photos reads “Limited Edition 1 of 399”.
BYD hasn’t announced prices. Chinese media report that Yangwang’s app lists the Shanhe Dingyun at 2.08 million yuan (about RM1.25 million), with a 300,000 yuan deposit, but at least one outlet says this is a configurator total rather than an official price.
Yangwang is already sold in the UAE through local distributor Al-Futtaim, and the U8 recently joined the Dubai Police luxury patrol fleet.
