BYD’s New Flagship EV SUV Blows The Competition Out Of The Water

The BYD Great Tang gets a 1,000-volt architecture, 1,500-kilowatt charging, and nearly 600 miles of range.

• BYD is leaving Western automakers in the dust with its new EV lineup.

• The Great Tang SUV is the company’s new flagship, and it’s an absolute tech fest.

• The three-row EV boasts nearly 600 miles of range and a whopping 1.5-megawatt charging power.

While some American automakers are scaling back their EV ambitions, China’s BYD charges ahead with an updated portfolio of electric cars that leaves Western companies in the dust. BYD’s new flagship SUV, the Great Tang, is similar to the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Lucid Gravity in size and purpose, but it blows them out of the water when it comes to the underlying tech.

Based on BYD’s latest Super e platform, which uses the newly revealed second-generation Blade lithium iron phosphate battery, the Great Tang SUV’s spec sheet is just out of this world compared to its closest rivals.

We’re talking about a 1,000-volt architecture and 1,500-kilowatt Flash charging capabilities that can replenish the car’s battery as quickly as a traditional gas fill-up. According to BYD, its second-gen Blade battery can go from 10% to 97% state of charge in just nine minutes when connected to its latest Flash chargers, which means owners will barely have time to hit the bathroom during a charging stop.

Even at a freezing temperature of -22°F (-30°C), BYD’s new LFP battery can charge from 20-97% in about 12 minutes, which is unlike anything available today in the United States.

By comparison, the fastest-charging electric SUVs on sale in the U.S., the Lucid Gravity and Porsche Cayenne Electric, can accept up to 400 kW from a potent enough DC fast charger. Range-wise, the Gravity is EPA-rated for up to 450 miles (724 kilometers) when equipped with the 123-kilowatt-hour battery, while the Cayenne Electric, which is powered by a 108-kWh pack, doesn’t have an EPA rating yet. That said, the Cayenne WLTP range rating goes up to 339 miles (642 km) for the entry-level version, which should result in roughly 341 miles (550 km) on the EPA procedure.

Meanwhile, the BYD Great Tang in rear-wheel drive configuration boasts a 590-mile (950 km) maximum estimated range, but bear in mind that this figure is likely a result of China’s CLTC procedure, which is known for producing rather optimistic results, mostly due to the cycle’s high city driving weighting. If the impressive electric SUV were to ever set foot in the U.S., its EPA rating would likely be somewhere around the 500-mile (804 km) mark, which is still well above anything else on sale today.

The Great Tang RWD will be available in China with either 402 horsepower (300 kW) or 496 hp (370 kW). There’s also an all-wheel drive version that adds a 288 hp (215 kW) motor at the front for extra grunt, but the range takes a slight hit, going down to a reported 528 miles (850 km) on the CLTC cycle.

Measuring a solid 208.7 inches (5,302 millimeters) long and riding on a 123.2-inch (3,130 mm) wheelbase, BYD’s Great Tang is quite the stately vehicle, especially when specced in a dual-tone color scheme. Inside, it comes standard with a three-row layout and captain’s chairs for second-row passengers.

There’s a built-in fridge, a fold-down screen for rear passengers, and a trio of screens up front. That said, the company hasn’t revealed the size of these screens or the usable capacity of the high-voltage battery, so we’ll have to wait and see how it stacks up against its Western and Korean rivals.

Rear-wheel steering, adaptive suspension, and BYD’s “God’s Eye” B lidar-based advanced driver assistance system are also part of the features list. It’s quite the compelling package, and it’s all expected to start from an estimated 400,000 yuan, which is roughly $58,000 at today’s exchange rate.

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