BYD, after the “Year of the Dragon”, has had a significant impact on the Chinese automotive market with a series of product updates. With years of leading the car market and continuous accumulation of self-developed core technology and multi-category layout, every time BYD launches a new product, it attracts attention from the market and the industry. The small pure electric SUV has always been a weak area for BYD, and the appearance of the Yuan UP is expected to boost BYD’s sales in the small pure electric SUV market. This model will be launched in March.
Before its launch, Sina Auto had a static experience with the first A0-class pure electric SUV model based on the BYD e-platform 3.0 – the Yuan UP. The appearance is sporty and highly recognizable. For an A0-class SUV, the exterior design style must enhance the vehicle’s visual effect, embody a sense of atmosphere that surpasses the body size, and prioritize recognizability. The BYD Yuan UP does just that. Its length, width, and height are 4310×1830×1675, with a wheelbase of 2620mm.
The exterior design continues BYD’s Dragon Face 3.0 design language, integrating elements of Chinese traditional culture and fun. The car comes in bold colors like daring pink, relaxed green, self-pleasing white, and cool gray.
The original text is in Chinese, so I will translate it into English and then rewrite it in TSN style following the given instructions. Original text: 元UP整车比例姿态饱满、动感，外饰设计风格酷中带萌，U型银色装饰贯穿左右两侧大灯，前车灯采用全LED光源，样式设计精致，并带有自动大灯、行云流水动态转向灯和大灯延时关闭等功能。 Translation: The overall proportion and posture of the Yuan UP are full and dynamic, with a cool and cute exterior design style. The U-shaped silver decoration runs through the left and right headlights, and the front headlights use full LED light sources. The style design is exquisite and comes with functions such as automatic headlights, dynamic turn signal lights, and delayed headlight shutdown. TSN style: The Yuan UP has a full and dynamic overall proportion and posture, with a cool and cute exterior design style. The U-shaped silver decoration runs through the left and right headlights, and the front headlights use full LED light sources. The style design is exquisite and includes functions such as automatic headlights, dynamic turn signal lights, and delayed headlight shutdown.
The front of the car has fast and slow charging ports, and the intake decorations on both sides show a certain sense of sportiness. The front face is equipped with a closed grille and smoked black middle grille, combined with LED daytime running lights and dot matrix headlights on both sides, the visual effect is very sharp, and the front end of the car is very powerful.
The car’s curves are versatile, the official claims the design of the Yuan UP body is cute, but the actual car looks cool, very sporty. If you have to say it’s cute, it must be the bold pink body color.
The original UP uses a floating roof design instead of a sloping design, giving it a strong visual impact and a powerful presence. The upper and lower body are divided with two colors, and the side lines are bold and sporty.
The original UP uses a very practical semi-hidden door handle, which reduces wind resistance and ensures the practicality of easy opening in all seasons.
The wheel group uses the dynamic and stylish wind hub, continuing the solid and dynamic design language of the body, combining design form with function, effectively reducing the overall vehicle drag, increasing range, and highlighting the pure electric properties.
The rear lines of the new UP are fuller and more defined, continuing the family design of the BYD Dynasty grille. The side skirts and the front and rear bumper embrace are consistent, not only with the elements of a crossover vehicle, but also reflect a rugged design.
The original UP taillights are designed with a continuous light strip that crosses the entire rear of the car, forming a “8” shape on both sides, resembling a Möbius strip, representing a complete, closed loop, like an endless “lucky loop”, symbolizing the perfection and completeness of life. The interior design of the UP is very creative and high-quality. The interior style of the UP can be said to far exceed other vehicles in the same class, taking inspiration from the closed loop of electronic circuits to create a layered, embracing cockpit. The interior cockpit is symmetrical, with the center console as the axis, and the main line extends from the main instrument panel to the door panel and side trim, with a dynamic and smooth line, all in one go.
The car interior is mainly black and beige, with the pink special edition adding pink accents. The dual-color style is neat, with a clear overall layout of the center console and two LCD screens. The high-end model also comes with an 8-inch W-HUD head-up display.
The overall design style of the center console still adopts the dragon face design, and the design of the air outlets on both sides is similar to the design of Chinese knots, which also echoes the shape of the taillights.
The innovative design inside the cabin is the polygonal elements on the door panels, which can light up and are also displayed on the armrest in front of the central island. This “ring” is the core of the interior design of the YUAN UP. It is inspired by a gathering energy ring, like a group of “halos”, giving the interior a vibrant “sense of energy”.
The circular handles in groups of four in the front cabin interlock, symbolizing the value of unity in Chinese culture. The six circular handles in the front and rear cabins are interspersed, stacked, looped, and connected, deriving from Chinese knots but different from them, innovatively representing the elements of Chinese knots.
In addition, the new UP model features a star-shaped design on the gearshift lever, creating a textured style and enhancing the interior ambiance. This design is unique among vehicles in the same class.
The design of the Yuan UP cockpit is very durable and of high quality, with a unique two-layer shape that forms the main dashboard. The upper surface has a distinct transition, while the lower main line extends to the door panel, embracing the entire cabin, retaining the encircling momentum of the royal family cabin and injecting a new, clear sports attitude.
The physical buttons and touchscreen are well integrated, the multifunction steering wheel and physical buttons on the center console allow for blind control of media, air conditioning, energy feedback, and driving modes.
In terms of car networking, the Yuan UP is equipped with the DiLink intelligent networking system, adopting a new HMI interface design – Di UI, with a massive APP ecosystem and OTA for the entire system. The DiLink intelligent networking system brings users a cutting-edge technological experience.
The configuration includes digital key, wireless phone charging, in-car ETC, panoramic sunroof, remote driving, and built-in dashcam.
Of course, the 12.8-inch floating central control screen of the Yuan UP can still rotate like other BYD models, making it convenient to use vertical screen software like TikTok. Comfortable ride, with a sense of class. It’s hard to imagine that the seat cover and ergonomics used in the Yuan UP are all available in a small SUV. The front seats of the Yuan UP adopt an integrated comfort design, with smooth lines perfectly matching ergonomics. The front seats can be adjusted at multiple angles to meet various sitting positions.
The entire car seats use the latest developed Dragon III seat frame platform from FAURECIA, with a lighter weight than the industry standard. The seat fabric is made of luxurious leather, giving a high-end and classy feel. The foam hardness has been adjusted multiple times to provide sufficient support while also offering a sofa-like sitting experience.
The driver’s seat is electrically adjusted in six directions, and the passenger seat is electrically adjusted in four directions. The total travel of the driver and passenger seat is 260mm, comparable to the front and rear travel of a luxury B-class car. The backrest adjustment angle is 75°, equipped with heating function.
Rear seats support 4:6 fold down, increase trunk space, expand to 1320L.
With a wheelbase of 2620mm, the interior space of the Yuan UP is ample, with a total of 18 storage spaces throughout the vehicle. The hollowed-out area under the center console not only provides storage space, but also various charging ports. The Yuan UP is powered by BYD’s mainstream powertrain, showcasing small size and high efficiency. It features an 8-in-1 single motor and core blade battery technology, with a choice of 70/130kW maximum power and 180/290 N·m maximum torque.
There are two options for battery capacity: 32kW·h and 45.12kW·h. The corresponding range is 301km and 401km. The car uses direct cooling and heating technology.
The efficient eight-in-one electric powertrain integrates eight core components deeply: motor, electronic control, transmission, DC-DC converter, on-board charger, distribution box, vehicle controller, and battery management system. It has the characteristics of high integration, high power density, and high efficiency, with a comprehensive efficiency of up to 89%.
The Yuan UP uses a flat wire motor: the power density is increased by 20% in the same volume, the overall efficiency is increased by 1%, and the high-efficiency range is larger; under the same load conditions, the temperature rise of the flat wire motor is lower, and the NVH performance is better. The Yuan UP uses CTB battery integrated body technology, which increases the body torsional stiffness by 32%, improves handling stability, and makes urban commuting more enjoyable; at the same time, the floor vibration amplitude is reduced by 62.9%, and the NVH performance is greatly optimized. The integration of the battery pack cover with the traditional structure of the body floor optimizes the overall Z-directional space structure of the vehicle, increasing the headroom of the interior space. In summary, the Yuan UP is a small, high-tech and good-looking pure electric SUV. The combination of inside and outside creates a unique existence. Compared to many competitors, the Yuan UP has cross-level product strength. With the support of BYD’s system and core technology, BYD, which has independent pricing power, believes that it can give the Yuan UP a very good price, don’t you think so?