Fang Cheng Bao began pre-sales of the Bao 5 on August 25, with a price range of RMB 300,000 to RMB 400,000.

(Image credit: Fang Cheng Bao)

BYD's (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) personalized sub-brand Fang Cheng Bao will officially launch its first model, the Bao 5, next week, after starting pre-sales of the SUV at the end of August.

The official launch of the Bao 5 will take place on November 9, and show cars are gradually becoming available in showrooms, Fang Cheng Bao said on Weibo today.

The hybrid SUV will be equipped with an off-road-specific CTC (cell to chassis) battery pack that has a five-layer protective structure and is 10 times safer than the industry standard, Fang Cheng Bao said.

BYD unveiled the Fang Cheng Bao brand and a technology platform called DMO on August 16, giving the Bao 5 its official debut.

BYD's hybrid technology platform previously included the DM-i and DM-p, with the former focusing on fuel economy and the latter more on performance. The company's pure electric vehicle platform is called e-Platform 3.0.

DMO is Fang Cheng Bao's dedicated platform, where O stands for off-road and DM stands for dual mode.

BYD also debuted the Super 8, a concept of the Bao 8, and another model, the Bao 3, at the August 16 event.

On August 25, Fang Cheng Bao made the Bao 5 available for pre-order on the first day of the Chengdu auto show, with a pre-sale price range of RMB 300,000 ($42,000) - RMB 400,000 yuan.

On September 27, Fang Cheng Bao said it saw the first production car of the Bao 5 roll off the production line.

Unlike BYD's dealership model, Fang Cheng Bao's first batch of stores will be directly managed, which is the sales model currently used by most of China's new car-making forces.

Fang Cheng Bao's first 70 directly-managed stores have begun trial operations, with another 10 opening soon, the brand announced on October 30.

The stores cover 44 cities in 23 regions of China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hefei, Wuhan and Nanjing, it said.

A total of more than 150 Fang Cheng Bao stores in more than 80 cities in China will gradually begin operations, and Bao 5 will be available at those stores, the brand said on October 30.

($1 = RMB 7.3013)

Regulatory filing: Here are key specs for BYD Fang Cheng Bao's debut model Bao 5