On April 18, BYD’s high-end new energy brand Aspire officially opened pre-sale for its flagship SUV model Aspire U8 at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, and also unveiled the new appearance of U9. U8 launched two versions, luxury and off-road, with an official pre-sale price of 1.098 million yuan.
U8 has a maximum power output of over 1,100 horsepower and a zero-to-100 km/h acceleration time of 3.6 seconds. U8 CLTC pure electric range is up to 180 kilometers, and the fast charging time from 30% to 80% is as low as 18 minutes. In addition, Aspire U8 also supports VTOL external power supply function, with a maximum discharge power of 6kW.
In terms of appearance, U8 has a huge and square body, with a wheelbase of 3050mm; in terms of interior, the star ring cockpit uses multiple curves design to achieve a sense of wrapping when driving. The interior layout is three rows and seven seats, the second row is double independent seats, all electric, the seats support front and rear sliding, backrest adjustment and waist adjustment functions, the third row seats are three connected seats.
Aspire U8 luxury version will start official delivery in September this year, Aspire U8 off-road player version will start delivery later.
At this press conference, Aspire also officially released the Aspire architecture, covering Yisifang, Yunnian, blade battery, super body, smart cockpit, smart driving assistance and other technologies, dedicated to high-end new energy vehicles, can achieve coverage of multiple outdoor scenarios. The newly released U8 and U9 models are all based on the Aspire architecture.
Aspire’s booth is located at booth 8A05 in Hall 8.1 of the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center. It shares the same hall with Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Porsche and other international luxury brands. And from the popularity point of view, Aspire brand’s attention degree even far robbed a group of old luxury brands’ limelight. When the new car held a press event, Aspire booth was crowded with spectators. There were spectators on the scene joking: Aspire really can only “aspire” now.
Aspire is BYD’s challenge to enter the high-end market. Wang Chuanfu said earlier that BYD’s two brands Tengshi and Aspire will push BYD to develop upward and consolidate its voice in the luxury market and high-end market.