BYD teases a new compact SUV called Yuan Up, which could arrive priced below $15,000

Fresh off earning the crown as the best-selling brand in China, BYD has (briefly) introduced a new compact SUV to its Yuan family of EVs – one of the larger contributors to its overall sales last year. From what we’ve seen so far, the Yuan Up looks small but mighty, touting some of BYD’s best tech – all at an expected starting price that is sure to entice consumers.

If you’re an avid reader of Electrek, you may have noticed an influx in news pertaining to China’s Build Your Dreams (BYD) in the past year. In the last few months especially, the auto conglomerate has made considerable strides in becoming a household name, introducing more and more EVs in new markets around Europe.

By December, we were reporting that BYD would inevitably overtake Tesla as the leader in global EV market share, which it did. This morning, we shared that BYD has been declared the best-selling brand in its native China, usurping Volkswagen Group’s 15-year reign.

It’s not just the rate at which BYD is expanding that is interesting to follow, but the magnitude of variety, all at various price points but all equipped with impressive EV technology, that has genuinely helped this company stand out.

Today, we learned that BYD’s EV lineup has a new entry called the Yuan Up – an addition to a popular family of vehicles that have already helped it garner the above sales titles. This compact SUV looks like it will serve mass market appeal as a small but roomy EV that should be pretty affordable to consumers.

BYD introduces “new little friend” to Yuan family

The images seen above came in a Weibo post from BYD Auto earlier today alongside the following caption (translated from Chinese):

Xiao Yuan, attack!
The Yuan family’s new little friend
#UP is coming, so stay tuned!

The Up will arrive as a compact SUV variant in the BYD Yuan family, beginning with a subcompact crossover in the automaker’s “Dynasty Series.” The Yuan has since been joined by the Yuan Pro and Yuan Plus, also known as the Atto 3, in many markets, such as Europe.

CnEVPost indicates that the Yuan family sold 428,580 units in 2023, contributing 14% of BYD Auto’s total sales. When it arrives, BYD says the Yuan Up will be the first A0-class SUV on its e-Platform 3.0, which debuted in 2021 and currently supports other branded EVs like the Dolphin.

While BYD hasn’t shared the Up’s dimensions yet, regulatory filings state it will be larger than the Dolphin EV but with a slightly shorter wheelbase. Considering the Yuan Up is in the same SUV class and size range as its Dolphin sibling, we’d expect pricing to correlate.

In China, the BYD Dolphin is currently priced between RMB 116,800 ($16,465) and RMB 139,800 ($19,700). That said, the Yuan Up is expected to stay in a similar price range between RMB 100,000 ($14,100) to RMB 150,000 ($21,150).

We are sure to learn more and BYD fully unveils the Yuan Up to the public and begins pre-orders.