Toyota-fighting BYD off-road brand ‘under discussion’ for Australia

Talks are underway for some or all of BYD’s premium subsidiaries Denza, Fang Cheng Bao and YangWang to join the Chinese mega-brand’s Australian new model avalanche.

With electrified rivals for Toyota 4x4s including the LandCruiser recently previewed ahead of this week’s Beijing auto show and a Prado-fighter already on sale in China, Fang Cheng Bao – or Formula Leopard in English – shapes as a clear opportunity in SUV-addicted Australia.

YangWang is more upmarket, although the founder and majority investor in Australian BYD importer EVDirect, Luke Todd, has previously told carsales the luxurious U8 4x4 – a Range Rover rival – should be released in Australia by the end of 2025.

Denza, meanwhile, was originally created as a 50:50 joint-venture with Mercedes-Benz but is now 90 per cent owned by BYD and has started a push into Europe with its battery-electric Z9 GT large sedan.

Having laid out a staggeringly ambitious plan to double BYD sales and launch up to five new models each year out to at least 2026, EVDirect CEO David Smitherman told carsales last week that all three brands were a chance for Australia.

“Certainly there are discussions going on with those other brands – 100 per cent,” Smitherman said.

“It’s being worked on. Those brands aren’t in right-hand drive and so we certainly want to bring those brands to Australia and there are discussions ongoing.

“But right now my main focus is the BYD brand.”

While the lack of right-hand drive sounds like a major impediment, Smitherman was clear that BYD’s Australian expansion has support right from the top of the company.

That became publicly apparent earlier in April when BYD founder and chairman Wang Chuanfu made a whistlestop tour of Australia along with his executive team.

Smitherman believes it is clear from that visit and BYD’s wider export plans that right-hand drive production would be considered for models that EVDirect wants to sell in Australia.

“They [BYD] have built a factory in Thailand for right-hand drive, they are in the UK, they are in South Africa, they are in Malaysia and they are in Indonesia,” he said.

“I think right-hand drive and specifically the Asia-Pacific region is a growth area for them. So that is not an issue.”

Last week Fang Cheng Bao showed off three concept cars, starting with the battery-electric Super 3 compact off-road SUV, the production version of which is expected to be called the Bao 3.

Measuring 4.7m long, it has been created to rival the BMW iX3 and the Mercedes-Benz EQC.

The concept’s rugged angular looks, towering ride height and squared-off wheel-arches may be toned down for production and we don’t know if the concept’s drone port on the roof will be retained.

The Bao 8 is a plug-in hybrid rival for the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series. Based on BYD’s Dual Mode Off-road (DMO) monocoque architecture, which has been created for electrified SUVs, it includes BYD’s DiSus active suspension that can raise the body by as much as 200mm and even allow it to leap up in the air, while dialling out unwanted body movement.

The third concept was the Super 9 open-top sports car.

They join the Bao 5 PHEV, a Prado-size 4x4 wagon that is currently the only Fang Cheng Bao model in production.

Meanwhile, Smitherman said the YangWang U8’s arrival date in Australia was not clear: “Still on the cards, not sure about the timing. The fact of the matter is it is not in right-hand drive.”

The other model in the YangWang range is the U9 ‘dancing’ supercar, which Todd ruled out for Australia last year.

Before Smitherman’s confirmation of interest, there had been little mention of Denza as an Australian prospect.

However, in the last 12-18 months Denza has started appearing at international auto shows and earlier in April it displayed a camouflaged version of its new Porsche Taycan fighter, the Z9 GT, on the streets of Benz’s home town, Stuttgart.

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