The U8, the first production model of the Yangwang brand, is a hardcore off-road SUV that will be priced at the RMB 1 million level.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

BYD's premium brand Yangwang will begin pre-sales of its first model on the first day of the Shanghai auto show, after the model was officially unveiled in January.

Pre-sales of the Yangwang U8, which will redefine hardcore off-roading, will begin on April 18, Yangwang said on Weibo today.

"See you in Shanghai on April 18," Yangwang said, hinting that the U8 will be on display at the upcoming Shanghai auto show.

The Shanghai auto show will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center from April 18-27, with media days from April 18-19 and professional visitor days from April 20-21, while the general public can enter from April 22-27.

BYD's booth is 7A06 at Hall 7.1 and Yangwang is at 8A05 at Hall 8.1. On April 7, Yangwang said the U9 electric supercar will be on display at the Shanghai auto show.

BYD officially launched the Yangwang brand on January 5, along with the first two models -- Yangwang U8 and Yangwang U9.

The U8, the first production model of the Yangwang brand, is a hardcore off-road SUV that is more than 5 meters long and 2 meters wide.

The model is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 4 seconds and will be priced at RMB 1 million ($146,000) level.

The Yangwang U8 has the performance, safety and reliability of a hardcore off-road SUV, with intelligent extrication and emergency avoidance capabilities in complex road conditions, along with technology and intelligence, BYD previously said.

The Yangwang U9, on the other hand, is a supercar that will also be priced at the RMB 1 million level, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds.

BYD announced the Yangwang brand along with a technology platform called e⁴, which it said was the first mass-produced four-motor independent drive technology platform. Both the U8 and U9 will be equipped with e⁴ technology.

On April 10, BYD officially unveiled its intelligent body control system called DiSus in Shenzhen, which is another technological breakthrough after its DM super hybrid technology, e-Platform 3.0, Blade Battery and e⁴ platform.

The BYD DiSus system is divided into three branches, including the Intelligent Damping Body Control System (DiSus-C), the Intelligent Air Body Control System (DiSus-A), and the Intelligent Hydraulic Body Control System (DiSus-P).

DiSus-P, which has a suspension adjustment travel of up to 200 mm and can lift all four wheels simultaneously as well as independently for a single wheel, will first be equipped on the Yangwang U8.

($1 = RMB 6.8388)

BYD officially launches Yangwang brand, debuts hardcore off-road SUV U8 and supercar U9