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Multiple BYD Yangwang U8 SUVs wrapped in camouflage and converted to right-hand drive were spotted driving in the Northern Territory and South Australia.
While BYD is busy focusing on deliveries for its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute, the Chinese marque has been spied testing its Yangwang U8 luxury SUV in the Northern Territory and Adelaide.
Images of Yangwang's – one of the Chinese car maker's luxury divisions – plug-in hybrid SUV were uploaded to the online social media platform Reddit on Sunday 19 January, with the user claiming the right-hand-drive vehicles were spotted in Alice Springs wrapped in camouflage.
A Drive reader previously spotted a similar vehicle being tested in North Adelaide on 14 January 2025, with these images from various sources suggesting the Chinese brand is considering bringing the luxury SUV to local showrooms.
EVDirect – BYD’s Australian importer and distributor – has suggested the first Yangwang models could be available in Australia by the end of 2025, but has not confirmed which cars from the luxury brand will be offered locally.
The local distributor previously imported left-hand-drive versions of the Yangwang U8 luxury SUV to put on show at specific BYD showrooms in June 2024, with three examples showcased at BYD dealers in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney in December 2024.
The U8 is classified in its home market as an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) in its native market, which uses electric power to drive the wheels while a petrol engine charges the batteries – the latter never used to turn the wheels.
For reference, the Yangwang U8 luxury SUV is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine used as a generator for four electric motors that have claimed combined outputs of 880kW/1280Nm.
According to a report by Car News China, the Yangwang U8 has a maximum range of 120km in electric-only mode and 780km when combined with the petrol engine.
The Yangwang U8 is bigger than a Toyota LandCruiser or Nissan Patrol, with the luxury SUV measuring 5319mm in length, 2050mm in width and 1930mm in height.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
