The Tai lineup becomes Fang Cheng Bao's second major product series after the Bao series, and will focus primarily on the family car market.
Fang Cheng Bao today unveiled its new Tai lineup, which becomes the second major lineup for the BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) sub-brand after the Bao lineup.
Tai, which literally means titanium, will include hardcore models for families, with the first model, the Tai 3 mid-size SUV (sport utility vehicle), to be launched in the first half of 2025, Fang Cheng Bao said today.
The series is named after titanium, a chemical element that has a wide range of applications in human life, and is highly ductile and malleable.
The Tai series will focus on areas including innovative technology, hardcore safety, individual style and cockpit.
Unlike the Bao series, which uses a body-on-frame that is more oriented to off-road scenarios, the Tai series will focus on a more family-oriented unibody design, forming the main product matrix of Fang Cheng Bao's hardcore offerings.
BYD officially unveiled the Fang Cheng Bao brand on August 16, 2023, and the brand's first model, the Bao 5 off-road SUV, went on sale on November 9, 2023, with deliveries beginning at the end of the same month.
On November 12 this year, Fang Cheng Bao launched the Bao 8, its second model after the Bao 5 and the first model under the BYD umbrella to feature Huawei's driver assistance system.
As the first model in the Tai series, the Tai 3 is the production version of the Super 3 concept that Fang Cheng Bao announced earlier this year.
When Fang Cheng Bao unveiled the Bao 8 at its spring launch event in Shenzhen on April 16, it unveiled two concepts -- the Super 3 SUV and the Super 9 supercar.
The Super 3 is based on a starfighter-inspired design, with clean, three-dimensional lines creating a sculpted metal body structure that delivers a flamboyant expression of individuality, Fang Cheng Bao said at the time.
Naming the production version of the Super 3 as the Tai 3 seems to be a shift in strategy for Fang Cheng Bao, as the previous production version of the concept car was called the Bao 3 and made it into the regulatory filing catalog of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in June this year.
Yesterday, the model entered the latest MIIT filing under the name Tai 3, with core specifications largely consistent with the previous Bao 3 filing.
The Tai 3 in the latest catalog has 2 all-electric versions and will be manufactured at BYD's Xi'an, Shaanxi province and Changzhou, Jiangsu province production bases.
The model has 5 seats, with length, width and height of 4,605 mm, 1,900 mm and 1,720 mm respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,745 mm.
The Tai 3 is powered by dual electric motors, with the front motor producing 110 kW and the rear motor 200 kW.
Its two versions weigh 2,170 kg and 2,265 kg, respectively, and both support a top speed of 201 kilometers per hour.
The model is powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries supplied by BYD's battery division FinDreams Battery, according to the filing.
BYD Fang Cheng Bao launches Bao 8 with Huawei driver assist system, starting at $52,520
