On 7 November in Abu Dhabi, within the walls of the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental hotel, BYD's luxury division Yangwang showed the world its new flagship, the Altior. For the brand, this is its first global premiere outside China. The car targets the ultra-expensive sedan segment, where Rolls-Royce Ghost and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class currently set the tone. In China the model is called Dingyao, and its international name comes from a Latin word meaning "higher" or "exalted."
In size the Altior impresses: 5600 mm long, 2030 mm wide, 1590 mm tall with a wheelbase of 3500 mm. It is a four-seat electric sedan on the e⁴ platform, which the U9 hypercar also uses. Each of the four motors works independently, and the system redistributes torque and traction more than a hundred times per second. Thanks to this, the car can turn almost in place, and in addition it has received an emergency flotation function in case it ends up in water. The rear doors on hinges open almost 90 degrees, like those of classic limousines, and umbrella slots are hidden in their edges.
The design draws on the ding, an ancient Chinese bronze ritual vessel, which the company says took three years to work on. The radiator grille is executed like a piece of jewellery: its elements are polished and positioned at different angles to catch the light. The interior uses Hetian yellow jade, silk embroidery with cloud motifs, two refrigerators and a 39-speaker audio system. The rear seats recline into a zero-gravity position and are equipped with massage, and a 21,4-inch screen is positioned behind them.
The claimed range on the CLTC cycle exceeds 1000 km. This is provided by the second-generation Blade battery, which is designed for fast charging and operates in a 1000-volt architecture. The company has not yet disclosed the power and charging speed, promising to do so separately.
The choice of Abu Dhabi looks deliberate. Yangwang is already sold in the UAE through Al-Futtaim, the brand's exclusive distributor in the country. In October, Dubai police added a U8 SUV with the same emergency flotation function to their tourist patrol fleet. The premiere also coincided with a recent world record: on 1 November the U9 Xtreme accelerated to 503,17 km/h on a section of the E11 highway in Abu Dhabi. This is a result confirmed by the FIA, and the same car's previous record was 496,22 km/h and was set in Germany. The region is thus increasingly becoming a showcase for Chinese automotive technology.
The first version available for pre-order was the limited Shanhe Dingyun series: just 399 units worldwide. In China, a deposit of 300 thousand yuan is required to reserve one, and the indicative price is 2,08 million yuan. This figure is not yet final. A five-seat version will come later and is not part of the first pre-order batch. Deliveries in China, according to Chinese media, are expected in the second quarter of 2027. For comparison: the flagship Huawei Maextro S800 sedan starts at approximately 708 thousand yuan, and the Hongqi Guoya at 1,4 million.
For now the Altior is more a bid for a place in the ultra-luxury segment than a proven competitor. Prices, power and availability outside China remain unknown. But the very choice of Abu Dhabi for the premiere and the emphasis on hand finishing, jade and traditional symbolism show that Yangwang is aiming not only at technology but also at status.
