November 7, 2026 – BYD’s ultra-luxury brand Yangwang has unveiled its flagship sedan, the Altior, at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental hotel in Abu Dhabi, marking the first time the brand has held a full global launch outside China.
The Altior is positioned as Yangwang’s highest-end model and the brand’s first dedicated executive limousine. Its name combines “Ding,” a Chinese ritual vessel symbolizing stability, and “Yao,” meaning radiant light. The English name Altior comes from Latin and means “higher,” echoing the Yangwang brand name.
The sedan measures 5,600 mm long, 2,030 mm wide and 1,590 mm tall, with a 3,500 mm wheelbase, making it longer than the standard Rolls-Royce Ghost and close to the Phantom in overall length. Its most distinctive feature is a coach-door layout, with front doors opening up to 80 degrees and rear doors up to 90 degrees, the first time a Chinese mass-produced sedan has adopted this design. The front grille contains 137 gem elements, the badge is made from 24-karat gold, and the cabin includes a 21.4-inch rear ceiling screen, dual refrigerators, a 39-speaker Dynaudio system, semi-aniline leather, wool carpets and real wood trim. A special “Shanhe Dingyun” limited edition adds Suzhou embroidery, Hetian jade air-vent details and unique exterior finishes.
Technically, the Altior is built around BYD’s Yi Sifang quad-motor architecture and a next-generation Yunnie full-active body control system, enabling tank turn, crab walk, high-speed tire-blowout stabilization and emergency floating. It uses a second-generation Blade Battery with a kilovolt fast-charging platform and a claimed CLTC range of more than 1,000 km. The car also debuts BYD’s self-developed 4-nm Xuanji A3 autonomous-driving chip, with three chips delivering more than 2,100 TOPS of combined computing power and supporting L3-capable assistance.
Pricing has not been fully disclosed. The Shanhe Dingyun limited edition is open for reservation with a 300,000-yuan deposit, and online reservation pages have shown a pre-selection price of 2.08 million yuan, though this is not yet confirmed as the final retail price for all versions. The Altior is aimed directly at the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, Rolls-Royce Ghost and Bentley Flying Spur, but its real competitive pressure may fall closer to the Maybach S580 and other large executive sedans in the 2 million-yuan range.
The launch signals BYD’s attempt to move beyond performance-oriented electric luxury and compete in the traditional rear-seat executive segment, where brand heritage, craftsmanship and customer experience matter as much as powertrain specifications.
