The first product of the F brand will be launched within the year and will focus on the off-road segment, according to local media.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Rumors about BYD's yet-to-be-officially-announced mystery brand have increased recently, with a new report stating that its first model will compete with the Mercedes-Benz G-Class off-road SUV.

BYD will launch a personalized brand internally codenamed "F Brand" within the year, which will operate independently of the existing BYD brand, local media 36kr reported today.

The brand's first product will be launched within the year and will focus on the off-road segment, according to the report. It will compete with the Mercedes-Benz G-Class in terms of overall performance, the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The new brand's overall price positioning will compete with luxury car brands including BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, and it will offer multi-category, unique, professional new energy vehicle (NEV) models, not a single off-road brand as rumored, the report said.

The professional, personalized brand is between Denza and Yangwang within BYD, the source said.

On November 16, 2022, BYD chairman and president Wang Chuanfu said at an event marking the launch of the company's 3 millionth NEV that BYD will launch a new, highly specialized, personalized brand in 2023, in addition to the Yangwang brand.

The new brand will meet the increasingly personalized needs of consumers, it will focus on building with users and will recruit outstanding dealers, Wang said at the time.

On November 20, local auto media Yiche reported that the new brand would likely target the pickup truck market, and that its first model would be a model with hybrid and all-electric powertrains.

On February 24, Cailian cited an unnamed source at the company as saying that BYD's new brand, internally codenamed "F Brand," is expected to debut within the year.

The brand's first model will be an off-road vehicle like Great Wall Motor's Tank 300 SUV, the report said, citing minutes of a meeting.

In addition, auto industry sources speculate that BYD's F brand is likely to launch hardcore off-road and pickup models, the report noted.

Notably, BYD responded last week that the F brand is expected to debut within the year, but rumors of models competing with the Tank 300 are untrue.

BYD officially launched the Yangwang brand on January 5, along with the Yangwang U8 and Yangwang U9, the former a hardcore off-road SUV and the latter a supercar.

Last year, BYD increased its stake in Denza, its joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, from 50 percent to 90 percent, thus making the brand essentially a sub-brand of its own.

BYD's mysterious new brand has internal code name 'F Brand', could target off-road market, report says