Reports: BYD considers launching China’s most expensive SUV so far

CarNewsChina reports that BYD intends to establish a luxury vehicle sub-brand named Xingkong (“Starry Sky”) later this year.

The first mention of Xingkong was made in 2021. According to anonymous sources, Xiaoqing Hu, the sales and marketing director of Denza, may be elected to manage the new marque. The first cars are expected to come out in 2023.

The source claims that two SUVs are already in development, and that both will be available in PHEV and BEV variants. Priced between 800,000 and 1,500 Yuan ($122,300 - $229,300 USD), they are shaping up to be the most expensive production cars in China, surpassing even the luxury-laden Hongqi models.

Allegedly, BYD plans to unveil the new brand and its badge in the third quarter of the year. The first car should debut in late 2022. We have already seen something like it on the streets (look at the spy photos in the gallery here), but it was an early test mule hiding unknown technology under temporary bodywork.