(Yicai) March 28 -- BYD's luxury marque Yangwang has unveiled its third model. Priced markedly lower than its predecessors, the new electric vehicle could make a splash in the market for mid-to-large premium sedans.

With a starting price of CNY628,000 (USD86,450), the U7 comes in a pure electric and a plug-in hybrid version and features two seating layouts, one with four and the other with five seats, the Chinese carmaker announced yesterday.

Yangwang’s two previous models cost more than CNY1 million (USD137,000) each. The U8, a sports utility vehicle, started being delivered in November 2023, with sales surpassing the Audi A8 L in January last year. The U9, an all-electric supercar, launched right thereafter. About 7,000 U8s and U9s sold last year.

BYD Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu said that apart from being competitively priced, the U7 is equipped with YunNian Z, an electric vehicle suspension system that uses electromagnetic technology used in magnetic levitation trains, filling a technological gap in vertical electric control.

The new cars pricing and cutting-edge technology are set to shake up the Chinese market for Class D sedans, which has been dominated by fossil fuel-powered vehicles produced by well-established foreign automakers.

According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, sales of Class D new energy passenger vehicles surged 79 percent in January from a year earlier, the biggest increase among all car market segments.

BYD expects its sales to climb 29 percent to 5.5 million units this year from 2024, with overseas sales likely exceeding 800,000 units, Wang noted during the company’s most recent earnings conference call, adding that high-end NEV models will play a key role in achieving that.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione