BYD’s plug-in hybrid lineup just got another mid-size SUV. On May 28, 2026, BYD officially launched the Song Ultra DM-i with a price band of RMB 129,900–159,900 (about USD 17,920–22,060 at 1 USD ≈ 7.25 CNY). Five trims are on sale from day one, and the same evening BYD held an intelligence strategy event that unveiled a self-developed 4 nm autonomous-driving chip called Xuanji A3, a kiloline-class LiDAR, flash-shot cameras, dual far-infrared cameras, and a city-NOA “safety backstop” warranty for cars running Eye-of-God A or B.
BYD Song Ultra DM-i: Headline Numbers
- Launch date: May 28, 2026
- Price band: RMB 129,900–159,900 (USD 17,920–22,060)
- Trim count: 5 versions
- EV range (CLTC): 205 km or 310 km
- Combined range (CLTC): up to 1,845 km
- Dimensions: 4,850 × 1,910 × 1,670 mm, wheelbase 2,840 mm
- Standard chassis tech: DiSus-C intelligent damping, TBC tyre-burst stability
- Boot space: 680 L expandable to 1,659 L
Trim Walk: Five Versions, Two Battery Sizes
The Song Ultra DM-i lineup splits cleanly into a 205 km EV-range pair and a 310 km EV-range trio. Below is the full launch matrix as published by BYD.
| Trim | EV Range (CLTC) | Price (RMB, ten-thousand) | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 205 km Pioneer | 205 km | 12.99 | 17,920 |
| 205 km Excellence | 205 km | 13.99 | 19,300 |
| 310 km Pioneer | 310 km | 13.99 | 19,300 |
| 310 km Excellence | 310 km | 14.99 | 20,680 |
| 310 km Premium | 310 km | 15.99 | 22,060 |
Every buyer in the launch window receives a package of eight perks – paint, financing, trade-in, charging, warranty, connectivity, “relaxed life” kit and extended-warranty service – with a stated total value of up to RMB 20,199.
Powertrain: 1.5L + 175 kW Motor, 1,845 km Combined Range
Under the bonnet sits BYD’s familiar 5th-generation DM-i system: a 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle range-extender engine making 74 kW paired with a 175 kW front electric motor. The 205 km trims deliver up to roughly 1,500 km combined; the 310 km trims push the combined CLTC number to 1,845 km, a near class-leading figure that BYD will market hard against the Geely Galaxy Starship 7 and Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV.
Chassis hardware is unusually generous for the price. Every trim gets DiSus-C (Yunnian-C) intelligent damping, which adjusts shock-absorber stiffness in milliseconds, plus the TBC high-speed tyre-burst stability system that BYD first rolled out on the Han DM-i. Nineteen-inch wheels are standard across the range.
Interior and ADAS: Rotating Screen, Eye-of-God C as Standard
Inside, the Song Ultra DM-i pairs a 15.6-inch rotating central touchscreen with a 10.25-inch driver display and a 26-inch W-HUD. The voice assistant is the brand-new “DiDi Xia” super-agent, BYD’s first multi-modal large-model in-cabin assistant supporting cross-domain memory, multi-dialect understanding and complex-intent decomposition.
The standard ADAS suite is Eye-of-God C (DiPilot 100), which covers full-speed adaptive cruise, lane-keep and highway navigation assist. Buyers can optionally upgrade to Eye-of-God B Lidar (DiPilot 300) for RMB 12,000, unlocking city-NOA (CNOA) functionality once OTA-enabled. The top “Premium” trim also adds ventilated/heated/massage front seats, a zero-gravity passenger seat, a 16-speaker DiSound system and an in-car smart fragrance.
The Bigger Story: Xuanji A3 Chip and Eye-of-God Strategy
The Song Ultra DM-i is the volume vehicle, but the headline at BYD’s same-evening strategy event was the Xuanji A3: a 4 nm self-developed autonomous-driving SoC with a 273 GB/s memory bandwidth, more than 2,100 TOPS across three chips, a 16-core 420 K DMIPS CPU and 20% lower power-per-TOPS than its peers. BYD says Xuanji A3 supports L3 and L4 stacks and has already entered mass production.
Alongside the chip, BYD rolled out four upgrades to its Eye-of-God platform: the Xuanji 2.0 architecture (cockpit-drive-power three-in-one central brain), a “satellite” sensor architecture, a kiloline-class LiDAR with 4 K image-grade output and 600 m maximum detection, 1,000 fps flash-shot cameras with sub-1 ms latency, and dual far-infrared cameras for extreme-light scenes. BYD also committed to an OTA in December that will bring the no-map, end-to-end city-memory NOA stack to Eye-of-God C customers — including Song Ultra DM-i buyers — at no charge.
To reinforce confidence in its city-NOA stack, BYD added a one-year “safety backstop” pledge for both Eye-of-God A and B users: any losses caused by a verified ADAS fault during the period are reimbursed in full, with no cap. BYD has earmarked more than RMB 100 billion in R&D over the next phase to chase three targets within 3–5 years: zero traffic accidents, “super driver” and “super secretary” capabilities.
Why It Matters
The Song family is already BYD’s volume backbone in the RMB 100,000–160,000 SUV segment. By bringing 1,845 km combined range and DiSus-C damping into the sub-RMB-160,000 class — and pairing them with the Xuanji A3 chip story — the Song Ultra DM-i is squarely targeted at the Geely Galaxy Starship 7, the Chery Tiggo 9 PHEV and the Changan UNI-Z PHEV. Expect monthly volume in the 15,000–25,000 band once full deliveries ramp in Q3, with the next BYD Tang refresh slated for mid-June.
FAQ: BYD Song Ultra DM-i
How much does the BYD Song Ultra DM-i cost?
The Song Ultra DM-i is priced from RMB 129,900 to 159,900 (about USD 17,920 to 22,060 at 1 USD ≈ 7.25 CNY) across five trims, two of which use a 205 km EV-range battery and three of which use a 310 km EV-range battery.
What is the range of the BYD Song Ultra DM-i?
The pure-EV CLTC range is 205 km or 310 km depending on trim, and the maximum combined CLTC range with the 1.5-litre range-extender engine is 1,845 km on the long-range battery.
What is the Xuanji A3 chip launched with the Song Ultra DM-i?
Xuanji A3 is BYD’s self-developed 4 nm autonomous-driving SoC, offering more than 2,100 TOPS of compute across three chips, 273 GB/s memory bandwidth, 16-core 420 K DMIPS CPU and 20% lower power-per-TOPS than rival chips. It supports L3/L4 stacks and is now in mass production for future BYD models.
Source: Autohome (autohome.com.cn) · Translated and adapted for English readers.
Comments are closed.