BYD has officially revealed the Fang Cheng Bao Ti9, a giant six-seat plug-in hybrid SUV. It features two 200 kW electric motors, a 66.5 kWh battery, and one particularly intriguing figure for Europe: its maximum authorized mass is 3,495 kg, just five kilograms below the 3.5-ton limit for a standard Category B driving license.

For now, the Ti9 is a Chinese-market model, and BYD has not confirmed it for Europe, Belgium, or the Netherlands. But the carefully capped weight, combined with the already confirmed European launch of its smaller Ti7 sibling, strengthens the case that the new flagship could eventually be developed for export as well.

Larger than European SUVs

At 5.27 meters long, 1.999 meters wide, and riding on a 3.13-meter wheelbase, the Ti9 is larger than most European luxury SUVs. It uses a 2+2+2 seating layout and weighs between 2,865 and 2,965 kg, depending on specification.

Power comes from a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine combined with a 200 kW electric motor on each axle. BYD has not yet published the combined system output, so simply adding the two motor figures would be misleading. Top speed is listed at 220 km/h, while towing capacity reaches 2,000 kg.

The most remarkable specification is the 66.48 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. BYD claims an electric range of 310 km, although the test cycle has not yet been clarified.

If that figure is based on the optimistic Chinese CLTC cycle, a European WLTP rating of around 220-250 km appears more realistic. Even then, the Ti9 would offer roughly twice the electric range of many current European plug-in hybrids.

Ti7 shows the road to Europe

BYD has not announced the Ti9 for Europe, but its smaller sibling provides an important clue. The Ti7 has already been confirmed for Europe and will be sold in Britain simply as the BYD Ti7, rather than under the Chinese Fang Cheng Bao brand.

That fits BYD’s broader export strategy. Fang Cheng Bao remains essentially a domestic Chinese marque, while selected models are being introduced overseas as BYD or Denza products. The Bao 5, for example, is heading to Europe as the Denza B5.

A future European Ti9 could therefore logically arrive as the BYD Ti9. A launch before 2027 looks unlikely, however, as the model is only now being introduced in China, and even the European Ti7 will not reach British customers until early next year.

Its positioning would also make sense. Europe has relatively few large six-seat plug-in hybrids, while buyers looking for three rows increasingly have to choose between conventional PHEVs and expensive battery-electric SUVs.

€70,000 territory?

BYD has not yet announced Chinese prices, although local estimates put the Ti9 around 240,000 to 300,000 yuan. Its eventual European price is therefore still speculative.

The Ti7 offers a useful reference. It starts below 220,000 yuan in China but has been priced from £47,995 in the UK. Applying a similar European uplift to the larger and more powerful Ti9 suggests a potential Belgian price somewhere around €70,000 to €80,000, depending on equipment and homologation.

That would put it into an interesting gap in the market. The Mazda CX-80 PHEV starts around €61,000 in Belgium, while electric seven-seaters such as the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9 sit roughly in the €63,000 to €70,000 range. A Volvo XC90 plug-in hybrid is closer to €95,000.

Temporary tax advantage?

The Ti9 would be considerably larger than all of them and could offer an unusually long electric range for a PHEV. For now, it would also escape the additional EU countervailing duties imposed specifically on Chinese-built battery-electric cars, potentially giving BYD more room on pricing.

But that advantage may prove temporary. Brussels is already considering extending anti-subsidy measures to Chinese plug-in hybrids amid rapidly increasing imports into Europe.

Taxation could complicate the picture in both Belgium and the Netherlands, although in different ways. Dutch plug-in hybrids no longer enjoy the advantages they once had, while the Ti9’s considerable weight would work against it in road taxation.

Belgium is more nuanced. In Flanders, a planned reform from 2027 will base annual road tax mainly on maximum authorized mass and CO₂ emissions, meaning the Ti9’s weight would count against it, but a very low homologated PHEV CO₂ figure could compensate.

Wallonia already factors weight and power into its registration tax, although hybrids receive preferential treatment compared with conventional combustion cars.