Yangwang Altior Rolls-Royce rival revealed

Is there no corner of the automotive world the BYD empire won’t target? Now Rolls-Royce is in its sights with the Yangwang Altior.

Unveiled in Abu Dhabi last weekend by BYD’s luxury brand, the Altior is a 5.6m-long four-door electric limousine with four electric motors and a claimed driving range of more than 1000km.

With rear-hinged back doors and two reclining seats behind the chauffeur, the Altior is closest in design concept to a Rolls-Royce Ghost, although the Spectre EV coupe is its electric powertrain rival.

How well the Altior stacks up against the recently updated dual-motor 442kW/1015Nm Spectre II on that score, we are yet to know, as Yangwang has yet to disclose the Altior’s battery capacity, outputs, acceleration or charging times, although it says the limo will use BYD’s Flash Charging technology.

Its 1000km-plus range claim comes from the relaxed CLTC test cycle, so we’ll have to wait for WLTP to compare it directly with other luxury EV rivals. The Spectre claims up to 628km WLTP.

Pricing is another important detail that’s been held back for the moment. Just for reference, the Spectre starts in Australia at $815,000 plus on-road costs.

As is the norm for Yangwang models, the Altior has a separate motor driving each wheel, so it can pivot on the spot – handy in tight city traffic and parking spots. The same set-up can help keep the car stable after a high-speed blowout, according to Yangwang.

There’s also an emergency flotation function and fully active suspension that reads the road ahead and adjusts to bumps as they come.

The rear doors swing out to 90 degrees and have umbrellas tucked inside. Once you’re in, a single button reclines the seats, raises the leg rests, closes the blinds and starts the massage.

There’s a 21.4-inch screen that drops from the ceiling, a 39-speaker Dynaudio stereo and two fridges. The bits you can touch include polished Hetian (that’s a city in China) jade around the air vents and upholstery finished with Suzhou (another Chinese city) embroidery.

Yangwang plans Executive and Bespoke editions, with a limited-run brown-and-gold version to get the latter under way.

BYD is yet to announce the Altior for Australia. But there is a little encouragement for anyone wondering whether to clear some space in the multi-car, heated and fortified garage, as the Yangwang U8 off-roader recently secured Australian type approval. So there’s a sliver of hope for the Altior.

Denza Australia chief Mark Harland has also spoken optimistically of bringing the U8 out here, but that would require some rebadging.

Also, BYD has told European media Yangwang will launch there in 2028, so export is on the agenda.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au