In December, a more compact electric SUV from BYD was spotted in the government regulatory framework run by the ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT), hinting at a more affordable model in the works by the fastest-growing electric car company in the world.
Now, BYD has officially released images of its upcoming small electric SUV, the Yuan Up, on the brand’s Weibo page. It shows the cars from various angles and looks to be quite a modern design SUV.
From the front, it has a traditional look, reminiscent of some other compact SUVs in the market. It does carry the grey panel from the Dolphin’s front end and embeds it into the vehicle’s styling.
From the side, the charge port can be seen which is located on the right side of the vehicle. This is the same side as the current Atto 3 and Dolphin vehicles.
Like the Dolphin, the door handles are quite flush with the door, helping the car’s looks and efficiency.
Looking top down, a glass roof can be seen which is also seen on the Dolphin hatchback.
At the rear, a light bar appears to extend from one end of the car to the other. It also has a rear window wiper just like the one found on the larger Atto 3.
Unlike the Atto 3 though, a rear-diffuser-like section is seen on the rear bumper which could help with the efficiency of the vehicle.
On the size front, it’s slightly smaller than the Atto 3 and comes very close to the length of the Dolphin, coming in at 4,310 mm.
Official specifications are yet to be released by BYD but previous regulatory framework data on the car suggests that the Yuan Up will have a powertrain that delivers up to 130 kW of power.
This sits closer to the 150 kW motor found on the Dolphin Premium and the BYD Atto 3 variants.
The motor on the Yuan Up will be fed by a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery which is likely to be a BYD blade battery pack as used in the Dolphin and Atto 3 vehicles.
The size of the battery pack is expected to be similar to that found on the Dolphin which starts at 44.9 kWh, capable of 340 km of WLTP range. A larger 60.48 kWh pack is also available, helping the Dophin get up to 427 km of WLTP range.
The Yuan Up will likely be unveiled at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition being held in April. Pricing, official specifications and release date details on this new compact electric SUV from BYD will be clearer closer to that auto show.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.