BYD’s Rolls-Royce rival teased: Meet the Yangwang Altior

BYD’s luxury arm has issued a teaser image of the Yangwang Altior, confirming the name of its ultra-luxury sedan targeting the benchmark Rolls-Royce brand.

Previously known by its internal ‘HU’ model designation, the sedan will be called Altior in export markets, which could include Australia, although BYD hasn't made any announcements regarding a local launch.

The sedan – whose Altior name is the comparative form of ‘altus’, the Latin word for high, lofty or noble – was teased with both an image and a separate social media clip on BYD’s global channel ahead of its expected unveiling around November 5.

It follows previous teaser images of a camouflaged test vehicle posted on Chinese social media channel Weibo by Yangwang general manager Hu Xiaoqing.

“This is the culmination of three years of meticulous development by Yangwang, featuring the brand’s signature design language, and is an ultra-luxury executive sedan,” Hu said.

The latest teasers show a three-box sedan which, according to Auto Express, measures around 5.5 metres long, broadly matching the length of the Rolls-Royce Ghost currently sold in Australia, priced from $680,000 before on-roads.

The Altior will be called ‘Dingyao’ in China, where it’s expected to cost around ¥2 million (A$425,000).

The Dingyao name combines the Chinese characters for a bronze ceremonial vessel (ding) and radiance or light.

Regardless of which name it’s sold under, the sedan includes the same split headlight ‘ding’ treatment as the Yangwang U8 SUV sold in China but not offered here.

The automaker said it arrived at the front-end look after considering more than 100 design proposals for the new sedan, with the teasers appearing to match previous spy images of the vehicle.

The Altior’s side profile also shows a brutalist exterior with an upright front end, while the top of the front and rear windscreens appear to have bumps, where LiDAR sensors for driver assist systems are typically fitted.

Cues taken from the iconic Rolls-Royce brand also include the adjacent door handles for the front and rear doors, indicating the back doors are rear-hinged, like those on the current Rolls-Royce Phantom, Ghost and Cullinan. The two-door Spectre also has rear-hinged doors.

BYD’s Yangwang brand sits above premium brand Denza in the company’s hierarchy, with a similar relationship between the three brands to that of Toyota, Lexus and Century.

Yangwang isn't sold in Australia, although the Yangwang U8 large luxury off-roader has repeatedly been spied testing on local roads, which BYD claims is to test its driver assist tech – set to spread to cheaper models – in local conditions.

Although not confirmed, the U8 is considered a potential donor car for the Altior, with its all-wheel drive underpinnings and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain candidates for the ultra-luxury sedan.

The U8L offered in China, which adds 200mm to the standard U8’s wheelbase, measures 5400mm long, making it closer to the Altior’s reported 5.5-metre length.

Across its range, Yangwang offers plug-in hybrid (PHEV), extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), and electric vehicle (EV) powertrains.

Previous spy shots showed the stately proportions of the sedan, with a flap for either a fuel filler or an electric charging port on the passenger-side rear-quarter panel of left-hand drive test models.

The images have also shown the Altior at an EV charger, with reports the sedan could be the first vehicle from BYD fitted with solid-state batteries.

On social media, Yangwang previously promised the sedan would be “equipped with unprecedented disruptive technology”.

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