Tag Archives: BYD

News

BYD’s Party Trick Is Over: Rotating Screens Axed as Brand Prioritizes App Integration

For years, BYD’s rotating touchscreen felt like the perfect metaphor for the brand’s rise in Europe: quirky, confident, and not afraid to poke at the Tesla-inspired minimalism dominating the EV landscape. Spin the screen 90 degrees and—voilà—you had either tablet-like portrait real estate for maps or a widescreen display for entertainment and menus. It was a gimmick, sure, but a good one. And it helped BYD stand out.

Now it’s gone.

The Chinese automaker has confirmed it’s retiring the feature entirely as it doubles down on integrating third-party apps and universal software platforms across its lineup. The upcoming Atto 2 crossover is the first model to break with tradition, its 12.4-inch display fixed permanently in landscape mode. The rest of the range will follow.

From Headline Feature to Footnote

When BYD first hit European shores, the rotating screen was standard fare—even on budget entries like the £18,000 Dolphin Surf hatchback. It gave BYD’s cabins some character, especially compared to the spartan, screen-forward interiors of many EV competitors.

The brand’s pitch was simple:

  • Portrait mode for better navigation visibility ahead
  • Landscape mode for broader UI access while parked

And buyers liked the idea—at least in theory.

In practice? Not so much.

According to vice president Stella Li, customer enthusiasm didn’t translate into day-to-day use. “People love the rotating screens, but the usage is very small,” she told Autocar. More importantly, the feature was starting to clash with BYD’s new digital direction.

CarPlay Killed the Spin Star

Li confirmed that the tech roadmap for BYD now leans heavily on partnerships with giants like Google and Apple, and on expanding native support for the apps customers actually use. The Atto 2 will be the first BYD to offer both Apple CarPlay and Google compatibility straight out of the box.

And those platforms, Li suggests, put limits on BYD’s interior theatrics.

“If they want to give the best experience, then a rotating screen will limit their apps’ smoothness,” she said. A moving display complicates UI scaling, touch targets, and screen responsiveness—particularly in apps never designed for a spinning piece of hardware.

A New Era: Autonomous Driving First, Quirks Second

With BYD’s global ambitions widening, the company says it needs a more universal, predictable interface. That matters even more as it invests further in autonomous driving systems, where screen layout consistency is crucial for safety and compatibility.

“We want to make our platforms become more universal in order to fulfill the best experience,” Li said, adding that some partners—like Google—are “a little bit behind” on certain automotive integrations.

In other words: the cockpit needs to be ready for outside software, not built around BYD’s own showpieces.

What This Means for BYD

Losing the rotating screen won’t change the fundamentals of any BYD model, but it does symbolize the brand’s maturation. The early waves of European expansion leaned on clever touches and personality; the next phase appears to be about global tech alignment, autonomy, and platform stability.

It’s the difference between a brand trying to stand out—and one trying to scale.

And while the rotating display will be missed by fans of fun interior tech, BYD seems convinced the tradeoff is worth it.

After all, the best trick in a modern EV might not be a spinning screen at all—but a system that simply plays nice with the apps you already use.

Source: Autocar

News

Denza Z9 GT EV Flagship to Hit UK Roads in 2027

Denza—the premium arm of Chinese powerhouse BYD—is preparing to crash Europe’s performance party with an all-new flagship sports coupé, set to make its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next summer. And if early signals are anything to go by, this could be China’s boldest shot yet at the Porsche 911 and Mercedes-AMG GT.

The still-unnamed production car, previewed as the Z concept at the Shanghai motor show earlier this year, is expected to land in European showrooms in 2026. For a brand that only hits the UK next year with the Z9 GT shooting brake, the D9 luxury MPV, and the B5 SUV, the coupé will serve as a full-throttle halo designed to plant a performance flag in unfamiliar territory.

A Tech-First Counterpunch to Germany’s Finest

Technical specifics remain officially thin, but Denza has been doing plenty of winking. The concept packed steer-by-wire, magnetorheological dampers, and a cockpit stuffed with next-gen tech aimed squarely at enthusiasts who want their driving thrills served through a digital filter.

More intriguing is the likelihood that Denza’s flagship borrows heavily from the Z9 GT’s hardware. That means potential carryover of its wild crab-walk and tank-turn tricks—yes, party tricks, but also a flex of Denza’s software and chassis sophistication. The Z9 GT’s tri-motor, 952-bhp powertrain is also a candidate for transplant, with insiders hinting that the coupé will push output even higher.

And this isn’t just vaporware: soon after the concept’s debut, heavily camouflaged prototypes were spotted pounding the Nürburgring. That fueled speculation about a possible lap record attempt—and more importantly, suggested Denza is serious about earning European credibility on European asphalt.

Goodwood Confirmed—and a European Strategy Comes Into Focus

Speaking to Autocar, BYD executive vice president Stella Li pulled back the curtain: yes, the coupé is Goodwood-bound. “We’d like to invite you to Goodwood…” she teased, before confirming that the production-bodied car will be on the hillclimb in July.

Li added that the final name remains “confidential,” meaning the Z badge may not survive to production. What will carry over is the mission: to cement Denza as a true premium performance marque in markets dominated by Germany for decades.

Denza’s Pitch: Revolution, Not Incrementalism

Li was blunt when comparing Denza’s approach to legacy rivals: “When they launch a new premium car, they just make the engine more powerful and the interior design more emotional; there is no fundamental revolution.”

Her counterpoint? The Z9 GT’s ability to drift, tank-turn, semi-autonomously pilot itself, and fire off a 0–62 mph run in 2.7 seconds, all while “flash-charging” at ultra-high rates. To Denza, these aren’t gimmicks—they’re proof points in a broader strategy to win buyers with cutting-edge capability rather than old-world heritage.

“This is using technology to really redefine elegance,” she said. “We will make people say, ‘This is the car I really want to try.’”

Denza’s upcoming coupé isn’t just another EV. It’s a statement of intent—from a new global player aiming squarely at the titans of European performance. If the production model delivers even half of what the concept promises, Goodwood won’t be the only hill it climbs next year. It’ll be scaling the hierarchy of the European sports-car elite.

Source: Autocar

News

BYD Builds Record-Breaking Auto Plant in Zhengzhou

BYD isn’t just scaling up—it’s rewriting the rules of automotive manufacturing. Deep in the heart of Zhengzhou, a metropolis of 10.2 million, the Chinese EV titan is constructing what may be the most ambitious car-production complex on the planet. And “complex” might be underselling it. At 130 square kilometers, the site sprawls across land roughly the size of San Francisco—or, to put it in EV-industry terms, ten Tesla Nevada gigafactories stitched together.

This is industrialization at a scale the auto world hasn’t seen in decades.

Why Zhengzhou?

Zhengzhou isn’t a glamorous coastal tech hub, but it’s a logistical powerhouse. Sitting at a crossroads of China’s highway, automotive-rail, and freight networks, the city offers BYD two priceless advantages: infrastructure and people. The region’s long-established industrial base gives the company access to a deep pool of skilled labor—crucial when you’re staffing a workforce that already clocks in at 60,000 employees, with more coming.

For BYD, whose explosive global growth shows no signs of easing, Zhengzhou is less a factory location than a strategic launchpad.

A Vertical-Integration Powerhouse

If Tesla built its reputation on rethinking the EV, BYD built its empire on reengineering the supply chain. Inside this sprawling compound, the company produces nearly 80 percent of its vehicle components in-house. That’s not just impressive—it’s virtually unheard of in the modern auto industry, where even giants like Toyota and Volkswagen outsource entire systems.

At Zhengzhou, BYD is doing it all:

  • Semiconductors and chips
  • Electric motors
  • Power electronics
  • Gearboxes and drivetrains
  • Battery cells and packs (their global calling card)

And that’s just what powers the car. The body and structure come from BYD’s own lines too: stamped panels, load-bearing components, suspension links, shock absorbers, and even the paintwork—either made directly by BYD or by wholly-owned subsidiaries.

What this factory represents is not just scale but sovereignty. BYD’s goal is clear: control the process, control the cost, control the future.

Two Million Cars—Per Year

When fully ramped, the Zhengzhou mega-complex is expected to achieve an annual production capacity of 2 million vehicles. That would place it among the most productive auto facilities on Earth, and by far the most vertically unified.

The sheer magnitude suggests a shift in the global EV landscape. As legacy brands tangle with supply constraints and rising battery costs, BYD is building an ecosystem that shields it from both. And with the company expanding aggressively into Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, and the Middle East, the Zhengzhou factory stands ready to feed global demand.

If the automotive industry has an industrial moonshot right now, this is it. BYD’s Zhengzhou plant isn’t merely a factory—it’s a statement of intent. A claim on the future of electrification. A demonstration of what total vertical integration looks like at unprecedented scale.

For decades, the auto world looked to Detroit, Wolfsburg, or Toyota City for examples of industrial might.

Now?
You might want to add Zhengzhou to that list.

Source: BYD