If you’re following the EV market and you’re not paying attention to China, you’re just not paying attention. The country’s automakers have been forging ahead in the race to bring ever-more desirable electric cars to market, and they’ve captured the attention of curious consumers and Big Three CEOs alike. The latest bombshell to drop is the Yangwang U7, a luxury sedan gunning for the best in the business.
Yangwang has been making headlines for some time, and not just because it has a name that rhymes. The company launched the striking U9 supercar in 2023, known for its ability to literally bunny hop on the spot. Then there’s the Yangwang U8 SUV, able to “sail” through deep water for up to half an hour. The company makes a habit of building striking vehicles with unique functionality, and its been using this as a base to build its market base in China.
The Yangwang U7 has a big job to do. On paper, it’s got the specs to compete with the best, and in the metal, it looks every part a contender. But beyond the power and the looks, the real shocker is in the crazy feats this magic robot car can apparently pull off. Investors are calling it “the most advanced car in history.”
Ok I can now tweet about it, the most advanced car in history is about to be unveiled. Live thread below. pic.twitter.com/A5jnarqHrv
— Taylor Ogan (@TaylorOgan) March 27, 2025
From Rumor To Substance
As with so many new EV launches, power is the name of the game. The U7 doesn’t disappoint, boasting a four-motor drivetrain good for 1,306 horsepower and 1240 pound-feet of torque. With the benefit of all-paw grip, the U7 can fling itself from zero to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, and storm on to a top speed of 167 mph.
The Yangwang U7 is an electric vehicle, but you needn’t worry about range—it’s available as both a pure EV and a plug-in hybrid for those desiring more flexibility. The EV version is equipped with a 135.5 kWh battery from BYD, which offers a 447 mile range on the CLTC test profile, which is usually 35% or so more generous than typical EPA range figures.
Meanwhile, the plug-in hybrid variant pairs a smaller 52.4 kWh battery with a 2.0-liter turbo engine good for 272 horsepower, and even better—it’s a boxer four. It’s our understanding that this is in a series hybrid setup, with the engine used to generate power for the electric motors, which otherwise match the EV version. Pure electric range is 124 miles (200 km), and with a 15.8-gallon (60 liter) fuel tank, total combined range is an impressive 621 miles (1,000 km).
What’s really interesting about the Yangwang U7, though, is the stunts it can pull off thanks to its advanced underpinnings. Based on BYD’s e4 platform, the Yangwang U7 makes the most of its four independent motors—one per wheel. By driving individual wheels forward or backwards as needed, the U7 can shimmy and slide around in ways no conventional automobile could hope to match.
Some of these scenarios are funny pic.twitter.com/HRJ48JdEdD
— Taylor Ogan (@TaylorOgan) March 27, 2025
The U7 able to perform delicate tank turns and even move laterally by inching itself sideways, and as reported by CarNewsChina, it has 20 degrees of rear wheel steering to boot. If you’re regularly parallel parking, or you just want a little more flexibility to get out of a tight space, this kind of thing just oozes practical appeal.
Yangwang was also sure to equip it with BYD’s cutting-edge DiSus-Z suspension technology. The active suspension actuators let the vehicle adapt to conditions in the road ahead using the “God’s Eye” LIDAR sensor to adjust the suspension positioning ahead of any bumps or obstacles. It can also help in the event of a flat tire or blowout, with the system allowing the vehicle to continue driving on three wheels at up to 50 mph (80 km/h). This thing will even lean away from an incoming crash, it’s that good. Beyond the party tricks, it’s also just about offering a great ride, as Yangwang demonstrated with a series of videos exploring the car’s capabilities.
2. Active defense test
DiSus-Z is a fully electric, next-gen suspension system that replaces traditional hydraulic dampers with four highly integrated suspension motors. It can preempt side collisions by milliseconds, rapidly lifting the chassis on the impacted side to protect… pic.twitter.com/Nx9BrHHg5B— Taylor Ogan (@TaylorOgan) March 7, 2025
New moose test record speed. Also, first autonomous moose test? LiDAR rocks! pic.twitter.com/avp7YY98Fx
— Taylor Ogan (@TaylorOgan) March 27, 2025
The launch included plenty of great shots of the Yangwang U7 doing amazing things. The autonomous moose test at almost 60 mph (95.11 km/h) was a particular highlight, with the God’s Eye LIDAR enabling that impressive feat.
Previous videos have shown more radical uses of the independent-wheel-drive technology. A particularly enjoyable example shows two U7s on the highway. One attempts to PIT maneuver the other, but the leading car uses its four drive motors and advanced suspension to counter act the induced slide. It’s crazy stuff—and something few to no other vehicles on the market are capable of doing right now.
YangWang U7 is the perfect getaway car.
It can get bumped at 100km/h & still remain in control.
Just unbelievable safety offered by Disus-Z & E4f pic.twitter.com/FFlCJPFfjn— tphuang (@tphuang) March 12, 2025
BYD Yangwang U7
5.3 meter length
1350 HPPrice 600,000 RMB ($85,000) pic.twitter.com/ctZVVSku8T
— CCL (@CCL2K30) March 27, 2025
They drove this thing up stairs.
More Specs
If you haven’t been following the news, you might not know that Chinese automakers are now leading the world in EV fast charging. To that end, the U7 is capable of fast charging at rates of up to 500 kW by using dual charging plugs. It’ll juice the battery from 30 percent to 80 percent charged in 20 minutes flat. Such powerful chargers aren’t yet the norm, particularly in countries like the US. Regardless, EV drivers will always want faster charging, and the U7 recognizes that fact.
Aesthetically speaking, the U7 follows Yangwang’s existing design language to the letter. It wears swooping curves and boasts the brand’s characteristic headlights that bracket an aggressive front end. The design is about both form and function, with Yangwang achieving an impressive drag coefficient of just 0.195 Cd for the U7. That figure eclipses the Tesla Model S (0.208) and even beats the ultra-slippery Lucid Air (0.197).
The interior is suitably high tech, with driver and passenger screens in addition to the central infotainment unit. There’s also a fragrance system as befitting a true high-luxury vehicle. Interestingly, Yangwang will offer the U7 in both five- and four-seat configurations. The latter is intended as the more luxurious configuration, intended to offer more comfortable provisions in the second row at the tradeoff of having room for less passengers.
Warning Signs
Ahead of the launch, expectations were high—both for performance and price. It was believed that the Yangwang U7 would land in the 1 million RMB (~$133,000 USD) price class. Right away, though, Yangwang was able to blow that figure out of the water. The U7 will retail starting at just 628,000 RMB ($86,430), making it far more price competitive in what is becoming an increasingly crowded segment.
Ok, now what everyone's waiting for, price! Everyone is shocked!!! 628,000 RMB! That's less than $90k USD. So many competitors in this price segment in China (AKA the Germans) aren't going to sleep well for months with this car at this price. WOW! pic.twitter.com/mKS4uGLfGT
— Taylor Ogan (@TaylorOgan) March 27, 2025
The positioning is clear—Yangwang is gunning for a prime chunk of the luxury market, which should put certain European automakers on notice. With the U7 and the already-released U8, the company has a pair of capable EVs that can also be bought as plug-in hybrids for those that want longer range and more options out on the road. Few automakers have such flexibility in even their flagship models.
But more than that—Yangwang’s cars are doing things the competition simply can’t. Mercedes-Benz hasn’t shown a bunny hopping supercar, and the BMW i7 can’t slide sideways out of a parking space no matter how nicely you ask. In contrast, Yangwang is building these capabilities right into the platform. While some of these might just look like cute party tricks, it’s a sign of just how far ahead the company is in these areas, and how creative it’s willing to be.
For now, Yangwang has a beachhead in China. With the industrial might of BYD at its back, it shouldn’t be long before the company is making itself a name in markets across the world. The fact that foreign media were invited to the launch is the tell that this brand is going global. The question will be whether world markets see the value in a car as advanced as the Yangwang U7, and whether these capabilities will win it fans in a fickle world. Whichever way you cut it, it’s a luxury sedan that offers insane ability for the price. That’s got to be worth something.
Image credits: Yangwang
These are neat party tricks. Like a lot of new car tech I wonder how much is really useful. It feels like Hyundai’s remote reverse thing.
Stability in turns and accuracy in parallel parking (especially if you have to do it all the time) are not party tricks. They’re selling points.
Hands-off driverless driving – that’s a “party trick.” I don’t udnerstand why anyone wants to have a car that takes the driving part out of their hands (literally). If you hate driving, take public transportation or let someone else drive.
Hands off driving is really nice on long stretches of boring straight highway. My old K5 would let you take your hands off the wheel for a surprisingly long amount of time before complaining. It was really nice on hwy 5 down to LA.
Is having your hands on the wheel particularly uncomfortable?
Mainly, though, I am talking about having the car do the “driving” for you, not the “long stretches of unpoulated straight highway” scenario.
Not uncomfortable no but being able to sit back in your seat with your arms in your lap for a few minutes at a time is a nice respite when all you’re doing is keeping the car centered in a lane.
I forgot about Kia and was really worried that you were letting Jesus take the wheel in your 70’s Blazer
“1,306 horsepower and 1240 pound-feet of torque” – but 0-60 in 2.9 and a top of 167? Something seems off there. That time seems slow and why is the top so low? My tank of a Ferrari 612 has only 533 HP, weighs 3880 lbs, does 0-60 in 4 seconds, and can hit 199 MPH. And my 1987 928 can do 170 in stock form with 312 HP. Just what does this thing weigh?
I didn’t see a weight in the article, but it has to be heavy (in EV form).
That was my first thought as well. My Buick could probably hit that top speed if I disabled the 155MPH governor on it, and it only has like 1/5 the power of that thing. (Regal GS – 250HP/300lb-ft)
I’m certain that has to do with the choice of final drive. Was there even mention of a gearbox? Doing 167 with one speed is pretty impressive.Even electric motors have their RPM limits.
The only way I can see all these numbers being true is if the top speed is governed for aerodynamic, tire, or suspension reasons, AND the motor is nerfed so as to not wreck the car with a twitch on the skinny pedal.
I assume it’s all just fake numbers. Either that or the car is an ill-timed sneeze away from torching its tires at any moment, and the tires are sized to last 200 miles.
As mentioned, EV’s tend to have lower top speeds from being single speed, and I wouldn’t be shocked if the 0-60 is on account of tire limitations (which, also frankly makes the 1000+hp extremely stupid because it’s all hypothetical genital enlarging nonsense).
Never thought I’d say this… but I have a deep desire to get me a Yangwang.
This looks cool, but it’s no Aston Martin Lagonda. Now that’s how you make the most advanced car in history!
So this “shimmy” to get out of parallel parking spots. Essentially you’re doing a low speed burnout, which I am sure is a fantastic way to help with the tire degradation as that hasn’t been a problem at all with these heavy EV models nowadays
I do wonder about tire wear with that manuever.
I thought the same thing. Weird way to parallel park too.
That’s all super fancy but how will it all hold up in 5-10 years? And I’m not dunking on China, I wonder the same thing about the Hummer EV, and well most newer EVs.
My Ranger electric is 25 years old and still works fine, I had to replace the brake booster, nbd, the column shifter is like any other automatic Ranger’s, big old handle, grab it and shift like you mean it.
My Bolt is 8 years old, over 100k miles, and it’s still working fine but…., this morning I had to push the P on the shifter a 2nd time, maybe I didn’t push it hard enough the first time, or maybe it’s just a little electric push button that gets pushed twice or more each day for the past 8 years.
Our Prologue is new new, less than 1000 miles, and the little mini column shifter thing I feel like I’m gonna break whenever I use it, like I should hold it with 2 fingers, maybe I’m just overly cautious as it’s not beefy like the Ranger’s but it’s a concern, it’s just a slim plastic lever, and maybe if it breaks a replacement could be 3d printed, but I’d prefer I don’t worry about if it breaks.
China is killing it in the EV market right now!!! Wow, impressive.
That said, I’m not sure I need any of these features.
Lastly, the price is right, Bob. This is what these cars should actually cost, even at the premium level. There really isn’t much to them beyond the sensors. There is no reason this should cost more than what they offer. Kudos Yangwang.
Ford CEO Jim Farley is reported to have come back from a visit to China last year impressed/scared of what he saw with their EV developments. I wonder if this is one of the cars he saw.
Good question! I wonder what kinda access he gets to stuff. I bet a lot. If I were a car company CEO, I’d have at least 10 people on the staff dedicated to gettin stuff you shouldn’t have (carwise, that is).
Xiaomi SU7
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a62694325/ford-ceo-jim-farley-daily-drives-xiaomi-su7/
Nice follow up! Yeah, it’s the new Model S.
The domestic price of ¥628,000 probably won’t convert directly to a market price in euros or Australian “dollars” or whathaveyou.
Dear god does that front end look like shit with those horrific lights on.
I rarely encounter moose or deer on wide runways with cones for guidance. I want to know what choices the software is programmed to make when the car encounters an animal on a twisty, treelined road at night with no shoulders to veer onto.
*car sees a rabbit in the road decides to take control from you slams right into a tree because we cannot run over the rabbit it’s life matters much more then yours or anyone else on the road*
The moose test is used because unlike a deer, you do not want to hit a moose. They’re tall enough that the bulk of their weight comes right through the windshield. You honestly may be better off veering into a tree on the side of the road because at least then you have the crash structure in the front of the car to cushion the blow. Hitting a moose is more like driving into the back of a semi trailer without a Mansfield bar.
Oh I know, I live in Maine. The thing not often realized is that if you survive the moose strike, the 10,000 ticks on the moose leave the carcass and infest the remains of the car after a short while. Super gross stuff any which way you hit them.
“Pure electric range is 124 miles (200 km), and with a 15.8-gallon (60 liter) fuel tank, total combined range is an impressive 621 miles (1,000 km).”
Which works out to 31 mpg on gas. That’s not world class performance these days. Nor is 331 miles on 135 kWh or even 0-60 in 2.9s.
My question is why use a 270 hp turbo four as a range extender? Do you really need 270 hp in a range extender? Why not a non aspired Atkinson cycle tuned for hyper efficiency and just powerful enough to keep the battery charged and the cabin warm under 97% of expected use cases.
Why use a 270hp, 31mpg motor? Because with this car’s electric range, you’ll rarely use the range extender anyways. And if you’re buying a real luxury car, you shouldn’t be expected to sacrifice real luxury just because you’re using the range extender instead of the traction battery.
And in what world, exactly, is 0-60 in 2.9s NOT impressive? That’s impressive by ANY standard for a street legal passenger car. Can you even get that anywhere else in this price range? And if you do have an answer, is that a showroom new luxury vehicle with a factory warranty?
“Because with this car’s electric range, you’ll rarely use the range extender anyways”
All the more reason to shrink the size and weight of that REX system.
Exactly, is 0-60 in 2.9s NOT impressive? For the – and I quote:
‘The Most Advanced Car In History’
Big claims like that need big numbers (or in this case smaller numbers) than a 5 YO Tesla.
Thats not to say its not impressive, it is but to earn the title of “Most Advanced” it has to be better.
If they shrink the REX, as soon as you’re out of battery, you’ll feel like you’re driving a lesser car. To me, that’s simply no longer a true luxury car. It’s a lesser car.
Even so 270 HP in a REX seems hella overkill to me. I think 100 HP would be plenty in this application.
Serious question: does anyone actually need all this advanced tech? Is it really necessary?
It looks cool enough, but how long will the tech last before the Chinesium factor kicks in after a while and it falls apart? My 26 year old Nissan has ten original computers and it’s still going fine. Will the Yangwangs, Dongfengs, Jaecoos and every other weirdo Chinese EV still be functioning after 10 years? Un-fucking-likely.
These are fast-turnover consumer items like phones and tablets, designed with a short lifespan, because something newer, flashier and shinier is always around the corner. Add to this, some upcoming BYD models will use Huawei software. Yep, that Huawei.
Thats where we’re heading. Cars will become disposable the same way that TVs, VCRs, Microwaves and other stuff that used to cost a shit ton and be worth having a repairman come over to fix.
TVs etc. are disposable because the price came down so dramatically. Cars seem to be getting more expensive even if they are now being built with a disposability mindset. That’s probably not the right combo…
You sound like every 60 year old in the 80’s who hated Japanese cars.
I think you mean guys in the ’70s who hated Japanese cars – I’m not that old and on the contrary, by time I started driving in the early ’90s, we largely bought Japanese cars in New Zealand as Euro cars were niche products. Aussie big cars were still very popular, but their smaller cars were badge-engineered Japanese cars (Mazda for Ford and a number of different brands for Holden, but mainly from the GM stable).
In general, the difference between Japanese manufacturers and Chinese manufacturers is the Japanese pride themselves on building quality products, whereas the Chinese pride themselves on building products at scale cheaper than the anyone else. Which is why quality inevitably suffers and you end up replacing the item well before you thought you should.
TBH, I always buy used, so 10 years from now, it’s unlikely today’s new Chinese cars will be on the roads – they’ll have been junked by then.
Most of the PARTS used in your cars, be they American, Australian, Japanese, or German, are made in China.
Ah, gees. I knew you were gonna come back with that, because that’s what everyone does and it’s a very simplistic.
If a known brand has parts or products manufactured in China, then you know they have to be made to that brand’s specifications and meet their quality control. It’s why I can buy Ryobi cordless tools and know they’re gonna work 5, 10, 15 years from now.
However, if you buy a no-name product that’s made by an unknown Chinese manufacturer, then quality and material specs can be a real crap-shoot, and the cheaper it is, the greater the chance it’s junk. You can buy Ryobi-compatible batteries from China for much less than the official product, but you’re taking a chance on whether there’s over-charging protection built in or not.
I recently had to replace a timing chain tensioner on my brother’s car and it cost NZ$150 to source from Europe for a genuine Nissan part. I could have gotten the same from AliExpress for NZ$35 delivered, but buy cheap, get cheap. It’s that simple.
The suspension capabilities are reminiscent of the Bose Active Suspension System prototype from the early 2000s. It used linear electric motors in place of springs and shocks, and was able to “leap” over obstacles and virtually eliminate vehicle motion over bumps.
There’s a vintage CNet video of a demo on a Lexus LS400. I wonder if the underlying Yangwang tech is similar?
Yeah it’s basically the same principle, replacing the dampers with linear motors. Not sure if this Yangwang ditches the springs as well?
The real win is rolling out that tech in an $86,000 car. The sensors and computer required to run the Bose system were likely staggeringly cost prohibitive 20 years ago.
Can those linear motors also work as generators? It’d be nice to get little boosts of range on a bumpy road.
That’s what I was thinking as well! They followed it up where most carmakers looked at the cost of the original and abandoned the idea.
My goodness.
Soon when celebrities ask Jay Leno what car to buy he will simply say “Yangwang”
Yangwang has the benefit of reaching for new customers instead of trying to retain old ones. They also have no reputation, whether good or bad, that would box them in. That’s one big reason why this has so many things going on. Another is that, just like the Japanese in the late 1980s, China’s trying to prove they can waste money on extraneous features that’ll be a reliability and maintenance nightmare because that money’s extra and not necessary to function.
It remains to be seen if Yangwang and the other Chinese companies become the new Mazda here and nearly kill themselves when another market crash happens. History has resurgent trends and reoccurences because the same conditions can arise again and again. Until then we just watch all the weird and wacky shit that comes out and that we call cool twenty years in the future.
Also, has anyone noticed that every Pacific upstart that becomes the new tech leader has been worse than the last? Japan, then Korea, and now China. A weird work cult culture, an autocracy that only became a democracy just fifteen years before they wore the crown, and now an authoritarian managed economy rife with xenophobia and rights abuses.
So you’re saying the US is next?
Maybe. Depends on if we go full William McKinley or not.
We seem to be getting the authoritarianism, but without the infrastructure investments.
It seems being a tech leader as its currently defined, requires goverment investment to fund research and innovation, and a large pool of low cost powerless labor to execute and manufacture at scale.
There’s definitely some interesting things going on, and on paper these prices seem great compared to western brands.
But a lot of it just seems like a bunch of gimmicks and screens to me.
290 miles (based on Lewin’s conversion) on 135kwh isn’t very good. Their charging speeds are definitely much better than what we see.
A lot of it reminds me of a few years ago when all you’d hear about was how far advanced Tesla’s were vs other EVs. Now that the dust has started to settle there, that advantage has basically boiled down to software and charging network (with some disadvantages in terms of build quality, looks, and weird ux with everything on a screen – not to mention the guy in charge).
Those would be the perfect car for me to foil all of those cops trying to spin me out.
It really is the perfect car for that. Drive it up the steps to crash into the front of the bank, grab the money, and run from the cops
You know what was once the most advanced car in the world? The Aston Martin Lagonda. I expect similar reliability.
how many times can you do a slippery-park before you have to replace a set of 4 eye-wateringly expensive tires? you could just learn how to paralell park…
I bet you can get a deal on a container-full from alibaba.
Maybe they’re LingLongs with the friction coefficient of Power Wheels tires?
I wouldn’t be surprise if that’s true. The car has 1300hp but can only do 2.9s 0-60 and 167mph top after all. Its got to be the tires that are holding it back.
It also probably weighs close to three tons.
Front end by Tesla, sides by Dodge Charger, rear end by Toyota Camry.
The slave labor political prisoners in Xinjiang will never have a chance to drive one, but they have had lots of… opportunities… to manufacture its components.
And interior color by GM, circa 1980.
That’s the best part!
Reading the road ahead for suspension purposes has been done by Mercedes, and A8’s will raise the side it’s about to be slammed into, but driving on 3 wheels when you get a flat? That’s good stuff. I’d love to know more about that suspension setup.
That was done by Citroen many decades ago.
Curious about the actual build quality (genuinely – I have no reason to believe it’s bad, and also no reason to believe it’s good), but otherwise it looks like they want this to be China’s “Lexus LS” moment – better than the Germans at a significantly lower price.
That’s my question as well. On paper and in pictures it’s quite a stunner, but does it have the quality and/or longevity to match?
Incredible! Guess it doesn’t matter since all we’ll get here in the US is variations of child eating pickups with ICE power and an AR-15 thrown in “fer pertectin th’ little lady”.
Or a little Ruger 22 dressed up in a Tacticool stock
Impressive,thanks for the article.