Fang Cheng Bao takes reservations for its first sedans, the Formula S and S GT
BYD's off-road brand Fang Cheng Bao has begun taking deposits on the Formula S saloon and the Formula S GT, its first cars that are not SUVs, priced from 230,000 yuan.
- 230,000 yuan (~$33,900)
- 280,000 yuan
- 730-900 km
- 41,213 (+190.6% YoY)
What Happened
Fang Cheng Bao, the BYD sub-brand known for boxy off-roaders, opened its order books on 20 August for two saloons badged Formula S and Formula S GT. Deposits run from 230,000 yuan (about $33,900) to 280,000 yuan, a window that sits under the 250,000-to-300,000-yuan band analysts had expected. Both cars reach buyers' eyes a day later, when Chengdu's motor show gets under way.
The Formula badge is the brand's first passenger-car family, sitting alongside the Bao line of off-road vehicles and the city-focused Tai range. Three variants were shown earlier — a saloon, the GT shooting brake and an SL coupe — but only the first two are open for reservations for now.
- 5,060 mm
- 5,025 mm (5,095 mm with tow hitch)
- 2,960 mm
Buyers can pick rear- or all-wheel drive. Rear-drive cars carry a single motor rated at 245 kW or 300 kW; the twin-motor versions pair a 190 kW unit up front with a 300 kW one at the rear. Two battery sizes are offered, at 76.744 kWh and 92.093 kWh, for a claimed 730 to 900 km on the CLTC cycle, and the range is set to use BYD's newer Blade cells and its fast-charging system.
Full specifications follow once Chengdu opens, where the brand will also show the Tai 9, a six-seat plug-in hybrid SUV making its worldwide bow. The saloons land during a sharp sales run: Fang Cheng Bao handed over 41,213 vehicles in July, nearly triple a year earlier, and 200,687 across the first seven months. It said on 5 August that it had passed half a million cumulative sales in under three years.
Why this matters
The Formula range pushes Fang Cheng Bao beyond the rugged 4x4s that built it into passenger saloons, widening BYD's premium sub-brand into a third body style. The launch pricing undercuts what the market had penciled in, a sign of how aggressively Chinese makers are contesting the mid-to-large electric saloon segment.
Terms in This Story
- EV
- Electric vehicle, a vehicle powered fully or partly by electricity.
- kWh
- Kilowatt-hour, a unit often used for battery capacity or energy use.
- ICE
- Internal combustion engine, the conventional petrol or diesel engine type.
A brief summary; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.