BYD’s new Tang EV: “anything is possible” for NZ

BYD has released interior images of its third-generation Tang, a five-seat electric SUV due on sale in China in the fourth quarter. New Zealand has not been ruled out.

“Anything is possible,” a BYD New Zealand spokesperson said when asked about the new Tang, adding that this was especially so if it is made available in the UK. The UK, like New Zealand, drives on the left, so a UK launch would mean right-hand-drive production.

What it is

The new Tang was revealed at the Chengdu motor show in August. It is 5045mm long, 1980mm wide and 1760mm tall, on a 2950mm wheelbase, and sits below the larger seven-seat Great Tang in BYD’s Dynasty range. The outgoing Tang has seven seats.

According to EV Central, it uses second-generation Blade LFP batteries of 88.7kWh or 105.8kWh, with claimed CLTC ranges of 730km to 850km. Chinese regulatory filings list a 300kW rear motor, with more variants possible. BYD claims its flash charging takes the battery from 10 to 70 per cent in about five minutes.

The interior images, posted by BYD Dynasty sales general manager Lu Tian, show a 35.4-inch display across the base of the windscreen and a 30-inch central screen, which replace a conventional instrument cluster and head-up display. Second-row legroom is over 1000mm and the seats recline up to 130 degrees, CnEVPost reports. Air suspension and BYD’s God’s Eye B driver assistance are standard in China.

Where it could be built

BYD has not said where export versions of the new Tang would be built. Its overseas passenger car plants are at different stages.

Its Thailand plant in Rayong, which opened in July 2024, builds right-hand-drive cars. It passed 100,000 vehicles in September and builds the Dolphin, Atto 3, Seal 5 DM-i, Sealion 5 DM-i and Sealion 6 DM-i, according to CnEVPost. It began exporting Dolphins to the UK and Europe in August 2025.

BYD’s Hungarian plant at Szeged is due to start production in the fourth quarter of this year, starting with the Dolphin Surf, executive vice president Stella Li told Reuters in June. Li said a planned plant in Turkey is on hold, and BYD is looking for a second European factory.

Li also said in June that the Great Tang would go to Europe and Asia-Pacific, possibly from early 2027.

In New Zealand, BYD already sells a Tang under another name: the Sealion 8 plug-in hybrid is sold in China as the Tang L.