BYD opened presales for the Song Ultra EV on March 5th at its annual Technology Day event, confirming a starting price of 180,000 yuan (approximately $26,050). The car is a mid-size five-door SUV measuring 4,850 mm in length, the largest model in the Song lineup, and the first vehicle in the Song family to offer a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor.
The LiDAR is not fitted as standard: it is part of the optional DiPilot 300 package, priced at 9,900 yuan, which adds the sensor alongside a 254 TOPS computing platform and BYD’s God’s Eye B intelligent driving suite for urban and highway navigation on autopilot.
The entry-level Song Ultra without the ADAS package starts at 180,000 yuan. With it, the effective entry price for LiDAR-equipped intelligent driving is 189,900 yuan, still the lowest price point for a new mass-produced Chinese EV with roof-mounted LiDAR capability.
Two battery options are available: a 75.616 kWh pack delivering 620 km CLTC and an 82.732 kWh pack delivering 710 km CLTC. Both use BYD’s second-generation Blade Battery with a 5% improvement in energy density over the previous generation and a claimed 70% charge in five minutes at a compatible flash charger.
Power comes from a single rear motor in two outputs: 240 kW and 270 kW. The 270 kW variant has a top speed of 210 km/h. BYD’s Dynasty series general manager has set a target of 20,000 monthly deliveries for the Song Ultra, a figure that, if achieved, would make it one of the highest-volume intelligent-driving SUVs in China.
BYD SONG ULTRA EV — AT A GLANCE
| Specification | Details |
| On sale | Presale from March 5, 2026 (China). Deliveries Q2 2026. |
| Price (from) | ¥180,000 (~$26,050) — base. With DiPilot 300 LiDAR package: ¥189,900 (~$27,500) |
| DiPilot 300 package | Optional — ¥9,900. Includes roof LiDAR + 254 TOPS compute + God’s Eye B (urban + highway NOA) |
| Battery option 1 | 75.616 kWh Blade Battery Gen 2 — 620 km CLTC |
| Battery option 2 | 82.732 kWh Blade Battery Gen 2 — 710 km CLTC |
| Charging | 70% in 5 minutes (BYD Flash Charger). Second-gen Blade Battery. |
| Motor | Single rear motor — 240 kW (entry) or 270 kW — top speed 210 km/h |
| Chassis | DiSus-C continuous damping system |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 4,850 x 1,910 x 1,670 mm — wheelbase 2,840 mm |
| Kerb weight | 1,990–2,050 kg |
| Interior screen | 15.6-inch adaptive rotating central display + 10.25-inch LCD cluster |
| Seating | 5 seats — 2 rows (slanted roofline limits to 2-row despite 4.85 m length) |
| Production | Zhengzhou and Changsha manufacturing bases |
| Export availability | China only. No international launch date confirmed. |
BYD Song Ultra Design & Interior
The Song Ultra follows BYD’s Dynasty series “Dragon Face Aesthetics” design language, which means a closed front grille flanked by “dragon whisker” LED headlights that flow into a full-width star-ring light strip across the front fascia. The side grilles on both sides are integrated with a trapezoidal lower grille, giving the nose a layered, structured appearance that is more formal than aggressive.
At the rear, wraparound through-type taillights and a prominent rear spoiler create what BYD describes as a layered and dynamic appearance. For LiDAR-equipped variants, a single roof-mounted sensor sits centrally on the roofline, visible but relatively discreet compared to the stalk-mounted units seen on older-generation ADAS vehicles. Six exterior colour options are available.
Inside, the Song Ultra’s dashboard adopts a clean horizontal layout with a straight dashboard line running the full width of the cabin. The embedded full-LCD instrument cluster sits ahead of the driver, and a large floating central touchscreen, fixed landscape format, not rotating, dominates the centre stack. The two-spoke multifunction steering wheel is notably simpler than traditional BYD designs, a deliberate move toward a cleaner aesthetic.
Practical appointments include dual 50W Qi-certified wireless charging pads, dual cup holders, a physical multimedia rotary controller, and a cooling and heating unit in the centre console. Rear occupants get a central armrest, polygonal silver trim panels, and generous legroom. Rear seat heating and ventilation appear likely on upper trims based on official images, though BYD had not confirmed this at time of writing.
The standout interior feature is “big bed mode”, BYD’s name for the flat-fold configuration that connects the front and rear seats into a continuous sleeping surface. The 2,840 mm wheelbase makes this genuinely usable for two adults, rather than the cramped gesture it can be on shorter-wheelbase competitors.
BYD Song Series
The Song series is BYD’s highest-volume SUV nameplate and one of the best-selling EV lineups in China. The Song Plus and Song L have consistently ranked in the top five monthly EV sales charts. The Song Ultra enters above both as the flagship of the family, longer, more powerful, and for the first time equipped with the intelligent driving hardware that BYD has previously reserved for its premium-priced models.
Until now, BYD’s roof-mounted LiDAR and God’s Eye intelligent driving system appeared only on vehicles priced well above 200,000 yuan, the Seal EV being the entry point at the lower end, and the Denza and Yangwang models occupying the premium tier. The Song Ultra changes that calculus by making the same sensor stack available (optionally) on a family SUV priced from 180,000 yuan. It is also worth noting the LiDAR is not standard. The 9,900 yuan optional package is required.
Outside China, roof-mounted LiDAR has remained largely confined to luxury vehicles, the Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3 being the primary examples in the European market. In China, LiDAR has cascaded from flagship models to upper-mid-range vehicles in under three years, driven by domestic sensor suppliers such as RoboSense and Hesai driving costs down sharply, and by brands using ADAS capability as a primary competitive differentiator. The Song Ultra’s 9,900 yuan LiDAR option is a direct product of that supply chain compression.
Notably, the story runs in both directions: Xpeng actually removed LiDAR from the 2025 G6 update, moving to a pure-vision ADAS system, while BYD is now adding it at the entry level. The industry has no single view on whether LiDAR is necessary. But BYD is clearly betting that buyers at the 180,000 yuan price point will pay 9,900 yuan for the option.
However, China has moved rapidly from offering LiDAR only on high-end models to deploying it across mainstream, mid-size family SUVs. The rapid expansion of LiDAR across China’s EV market reflects how domestic suppliers and intense competition are pushing intelligent-driving technology forward.
What BYD Said
At the March 5th Technology Day event, BYD framed the Song Ultra launch as part of a broader push to democratise intelligent driving across its Dynasty lineup. The Dynasty series general manager stated the Song Ultra targets over 20,000 monthly deliveries, an ambitious figure that implies BYD expects the LiDAR option to drive meaningful volume rather than serve as a low-take-rate premium addition.
BYD described the second-generation Blade Battery as offering five percent higher energy density than the previous generation, with the 70% charge in five minutes claim tied specifically to its Megawatt Flash Charging 2.0 infrastructure, which the company said it plans to expand to 4,000 stations by the end of 2026.
The DiSus-C continuous damping chassis system, previously reserved for higher price points, is fitted as standard on the Song Ultra, not as part of the LiDAR package. BYD positioned the combination of chassis, battery and optional ADAS as a deliberate value compression: technology that was ¥300,000+ territory twelve months ago, now available under ¥200,000.
Editorial Take
The Song Ultra’s LiDAR option at 9,900 yuan is the most significant pricing signal to come out of the Chinese ADAS market in 2026 so far, and we are only in March. When a sensor that cost tens of thousands of yuan per unit just three years ago becomes a sub-10,000 yuan tick-box option on a 180,000 yuan family SUV, the economics of intelligent driving have fundamentally changed.
BYD did not do this through software brilliance. It did it through supply chain ownership and scale. That is a different kind of competitive moat, and it is one that Xpeng, NIO and Huawei cannot replicate quickly.
A note of caution, though. The comparison between God’s Eye B and Huawei’s ADS 4 is not a like-for-like contest. Huawei’s system has earned its reputation through demonstrated real-world performance, including on roundabouts, in dense urban traffic, and in poor weather conditions that BYD’s ADAS suite has not yet matched at any tier.
The Song Ultra may have LiDAR on the roof, but the critical question for buyers considering this car as an intelligent driving purchase is whether DiPilot 300 at 254 TOPS actually delivers meaningful urban NOA in daily use, or whether the hardware is ahead of the software. We will not know that answer until owners report back over the coming months.
What is not in doubt is the strategic intent. BYD wants to make intelligent driving capability a standard expectation at the 200,000 yuan price point, the same way it made long range and fast charging standard at the 150,000 yuan price point. If the Song Ultra sells in the numbers BYD expects, that ambition becomes a market reality. Rivals who are still charging 250,000–330,000 yuan for cars with comparable ADAS hardware will need a compelling answer, and fast.
Sources: Autohome, Yiche
Dollars loves following the latest innovations in automobile technology and sharing insights.
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