Tank-turning BYD YangWang U8 spied in Australia

A right-hand drive BYD YangWang U8 plug-in-hybrid SUV wearing heavy camouflauge has been spotted by Adam Craze, one of the owners of the Buller Road Brewery, in Mansfield, Victoria.

It's the same U8 - wearing the same plates - that was spotted in Alice Springs just a few weeks ago, showing that BYD is putting its SUV through some serious local testing and evaluation.

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Those images in Alice Springs were posted to the CarsAustralia Reddit thread, with the following post: “Multiple right-hand-drive Yangwang U8s have been spotted during testing in Alice Springs, Australia”.

YangWang is a Chinese luxury electric car brand owned by BYD, and its U8 is a quad-motor plug-in hybrid SUV that has previously gone viral for its high-tech cabin and its ability to perform tank turns and float on water (yep!).

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It’s powered by a combination of a 200kW 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine and four 220kW electric motors, to deliver a mind-boggling 880kW and 1280Nm.

LHD examples of the U8 have been seen at BYD dealerships around the country, but this is the first vehicle seen in Australia in right-hand drive.

Similar in stature to a 300 Series LandCruiser, the Yangwang U8 is expected to rival luxurious SUVs such as the Range Rover. It is expected to launch in Australia late in 2025 or early in 2026 – but that is yet to be confirmed.