BYD on Wednesday officially launched the U8, its first-ever high-end, off-road sports utility vehicle model under the new Yangwang sub-brand, which the Chinese automaker says will have a price tag of nearly RMB 1.1 million ($150,395). The electric vehicle giant for now has no specific sales target for the super high-end lineup and is on track to begin delivery from late October in a dozen major Chinese cities, a company spokesperson recently told Chinese media outlet LatePost. Capable of doing a 360-degree spin on its own axis, the full-size off-roader also comes with enhanced assisted driving capabilities such as valet parking and adaptive cruise control, powered by dual Nvidia Drive Orin processing chips. The plug-in hybrid vehicle is aimed at competing with offerings from Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz, and BYD plans to operate 90 direct sales stores across the country by the end of the year. [LatePost, in Chinese]

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