BYD debuts all-electric U9 supercar at Geneva Motor Show
BYD Auto's (BYDDY, 1211.HK) latest supercar, the all-electric Yangwang U9, is the Chinese EV maker's most expensive vehicle yet with a starting price of $233,000.
Yahoo Finance Autos Reporter Pras Subramanian highlights the U9's debut at the 2024 Geneva Motor Show. The model will only be sold in the Chinese market.
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Editor's note: This article was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.
Video Transcript
[AUDIO LOGO]
JULIE HYMAN: Chinese automaker BYD debuting its new electric supercar with a price tag of $233,000. The U9 is expected to rival brands like Ferrari and, according to the company, will be able to reach speeds of 190 miles an hour and drive on only three wheels. Huh? Pras Subramanian's here. I don't know why you would want to only drive on three wheels, but--
JOSH LIPTON: Because you can, Julie. Because you can.
JULIE HYMAN: But how would that-- how does physics work? Whatever. We'll leave that one aside for a minute.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: [LAUGHS] I gotta look into that three wheel thing, but--
JULIE HYMAN: [LAUGHS]
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yes, the U9 debuted today in Geneva at the Geneva Auto Show. We saw this car earlier, but this is the actual produc-- or the launch model of the car. Only going to be sold in China here-- limited quantities. You mentioned $233,000. The difference here is that this car is a pure EV, right? So Ferrari and McLaren say they are gas-powered, in some cases, hybrid-powered-- so not fully EVs. I think this is a really compelling model for the money. You see the top speed there-- 192 miles per hour-- very, very competitive specs there, pretty impressive. I mean, I'm curious how this thing would sell in America if it came here. But we're not going to see Chinese cars here any time soon.
JULIE HYMAN: Can I-- quick, quick follow up for you. What does one do with a car like this? Where do you drive-- like, do you just go to a track and drive it 192 miles an hour? Is that what people do with these?
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: You could if you were a serious sort of enthusiast-- sports car enthusiast and a track driver. Yeah, you would take them to the track. But for most people, it's just parking outside [INAUDIBLE]
JULIE HYMAN: And being able to say it could go 192 miles per hour.
JOSH LIPTON: Yeah.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah, yeah. I have this cool-looking car.
JULIE HYMAN: OK, got it. [LAUGHS]
JOSH LIPTON: Pras. I mean, for-- one thing that's strange to me is the comparisons people are making like, it's some type of competitor to Ferrari, which, I really-- I don't see that. I don't-- Do you think that's fair? I really don't see that as a comparison.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: I think we're talking about two different--
JOSH LIPTON: Totally.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: People who want to buy a Ferrari are not going to buy this-- the Yangwang U9 right there.
JOSH LIPTON: Yeah.
PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: In China, maybe there's a little bit of a different story there. But the Chinese are-- Chinese market has been very sort of forward on how much they love the brand names. They love Western luxury brands-- Bentley, Porsche, Ferrari. These are-- Rolls-Royce. These are top markets for those brands in China. So that's-- I don't see them going away anytime soon.
JULIE HYMAN: Of course, Ferrari wasn't always Ferrari. So I guess you got to start somewhere.
