Drone-packing BYD Ti7 gets 469-mile range and 1000kW charging

BYD has teased its new Ti7 off-roader, which is aimed squarely at the Land Rover Defender, ahead of a rumoured UK launch later this year.

Meaning ‘Titanium 7’, the boxy Ti7 is on sale at home in China, where it’s marketed as the Fangchengbao Ti7.

Fangchengbao is another of BYD’s premium-focused sub-brands alongside Denza and Yangwang. Unlike Denza, which has already arrived in Europe, Fangchengbao isn’t yet confirmed for European markets. Nonetheless, it’s sold in several Asian countries, the Middle East, and South Africa. As such, the Fangchenbao Ti7 (pictured below and pronounced ‘tai’) is expected to be marketed here as a BYD.

Measuring five metres long, two metres wide, and 1.86 metres tall, the Ti7 is roughly the same size as the Defender 110. Despite having approach and departure angles of 24 and 25 degrees respectively, it’s bettered by the Land Rover, which offers 38 and 40 degrees in this department. Wading depth is another area where the British car betters the Ti7, with the former offering 90cm, and the latter 60cm.

BYD recently launched an all-electric version of Ti7 in China with up to 469 miles on the Chinese CLTC cycle. The electric Ti7’s party piece is 1000kW (megawatt) ‘Flash’ charging. While no information about the BYD Ti7’s battery has been published yet, the Euro-spec car will be compatible with BYD’s upcoming European network of 1,500kW Flash chargers.

Dwarfing the quickest Tesla Supercharger by an enormous 1,250kWh, the Chinese automotive giant’s public charging network can recharge one of its chassis-integrated ‘Blade’ batteries from 10% to 70% in just five minutes. Yet it is expected that plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrains with either rear or all-wheel-drive (AWD) will be the only versions on sale here. The BYD Ti7 PHEV gets a twin-motor setup, producing 124 miles of electric-only range.

In China, the Ti7 comes with plenty of standard equipment. BYD isn’t stingy when it comes to toys, so we expect UK cars to come with the 15.6-inch central touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital driver display pictured above.

A head-up display, an onboard fridge, plus dual panoramic sunroofs are also standard. Chinese market models also come with the option of a roof-mounted drone station, which is unlikely to fly here. BYD will announce pricing for the Ti7 later this year, but as a reference point, it is priced from 179,800 yuan in China, around £19,400. This is expected to be somewhat more for UK buyers.