Ti7 is anticipated to have a plug-in hybrid powertrain only.
Fangchengbao Tai 7 morphs into the BYD Ti7 for export markets. Picture: BYD
Having debuted in the United Kingdom earlier this year, BYD’s Ti7 has been confirmed for South Africa via teaser images posted by dealers on their social media pages.
BYD but a Fangchengbao
Marketed by BYD-owned Fangchengbao as the Tai 7 in China, the export model will be sold as a BYD and not under the Denza marque as previously alleged.
Seemingly, the decision has been strategic as Denza, outside China, has been devised as an off-road specific division despite its B5 and B8 models being sold by Fangchengbao as the Bao 5 and Bao 8 in its home market.
Consequently, the Ti7 in China is marketed under the Tai or Titanium family of products along with the Tai 3, which isn’t designed for strenuous off-road use.
As such, the Ti7 will wear the BYD nomenclature and, based on the teasers, powered exclusively by a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
What is it?
Revealed in China last year, the Ti7 rides on a unibody platform rather than the ladder-frame used by the Bao 5/B5 and Bao 8/B8, and provides seating for seven as standard.
Styled to resemble the Defender 110, the Ti7’s dimensions are as follows:
- Length: 4 999mm;
- Wheelbase: 2 920mm;
- Height: 1 856mm;
- Width: 1 995 mm
Plug-in hybrid only
Up front, the plug-in hybrid powertrain, under BYD’s DM-p designation, uses the familiar 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine as its base, but with a choice of two battery pack options in China.
Whereas the engine itself develops 115kW/225Nm, the base 26.6-kWh battery powers a single front axle-mounted electric motor capable of 200kW/315Nm.
While no combined output is known, the so-called Pro variant will get from 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds and do 135km on a single charge according to China’s CLTC cycle.
Moving up to the Long Range Max brings the larger 35.6-kWh battery paired with the same combustion engine and electric motor. The result is a claimed CLTC range of 200km and 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds.
Completing the range, the Max and Ultra variants use the same battery pack as the Long Range Max, but with the addition of a second electric motor on the rear axle.
In a departure, though, output for front module have been reduced to 160kW/260Nm while the rear produces 200kW/360Nm.
Combined with the petrol engine, the dual-motor all-wheel drive Max and Ultra will get from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds and do 190km on the electric hardware alone.
Regardless of the powertrain or electric motor count, all models’ top speeds are limited to 190km/h.
Stay tuned
Based on the mentioned dealer postings, pre-orders are now open, though no pricing was disclosed.
BYD South Africa itself is yet to finalise the Ti7 after merely confirming to cars.co.za in August that is under evaluation. As such, expect more details in due course.
