The BYD Ti7 has moved from an intriguing Chinese-market import story to a confirmed UK model. Orders are open, the price is set, the seven-seat layout is confirmed and customer deliveries start in January 2027.
The BYD Ti7 is no longer the vaguely specified, Defender-shaped SUV we wrote about months ago. It is now on sale in Britain from £47,995, its UK seven-seat specification is much clearer, and the first customer cars are due in January 2027.
That changes the story completely. When the original draft was written, we knew the Ti7 was coming and that BYD planned to use its DM-p plug-in hybrid system, but the important details were still missing. We now have the price, final UK trim strategy, 408PS output, a quoted 74-mile electric range, full luggage figures and a firm showroom timetable.
The car has also made its UK public debut. The Ti7 was one of three new-car debuts highlighted at the 2026 British Motor Show at Farnborough in August, before BYD took its latest models to CarFest at Silverstone over the bank holiday weekend. It is no longer a distant promise. British buyers can place an order now.
And this is not arriving from an unknown manufacturer hoping somebody notices. BYD passed 100,000 UK registrations in July 2026, only three years after entering the market. The Ti7 therefore lands as a flagship family SUV from a brand that has become a serious player with remarkable speed.
BYD Ti7 UK guide: price, specs and 2027 launch
| Key fact | Current UK information |
|---|---|
| UK price | £47,995 on the road |
| UK trim | Excellence AWD |
| Seats | Seven |
| Powertrain | DM-p plug-in hybrid |
| Petrol engine | 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, 150PS |
| Electric drive | Front and rear electric motors, all-wheel drive |
| Combined output | 408PS, approximately 402bhp |
| Battery | 35.6kWh BYD Blade Battery, LFP chemistry |
| Electric range | Up to 74 miles WLTP combined, currently quoted by BYD |
| 0-62mph | 4.8 seconds, currently quoted by BYD |
| Top speed | 118mph |
| Showrooms | November 2026 |
| Customer deliveries | January 2027 |
| Order status | Available to pre-order now |
Jump to the section you need:
- BYD Ti7 UK guide: price, specs and 2027 launch
- Initial Ti7 reports were right about the threat, but the numbers have changed
- From Fangchengbao Tai 7 to BYD Ti7
- It looks like a Defender because boxy SUVs sell
- Seven seats are not an afterthought
- The standard equipment list is where the £47,995 price starts to bite
- So, is it really a Land Rover Defender rival?
- Its UK debut has already happened
- BYD itself is a much bigger UK story than it was a year ago
- What BYD still needs to tell us
- Smart Motoring verdict: the Ti7 has become much more interesting
- BYD Ti7 vs Defender 110 PHEV
- BYD Ti7 UK specifications
- BYD Ti7 frequently asked questions
Initial Ti7 reports were right about the threat, but the numbers have changed
The initial reports regarding the BYD Ti7 got the broad direction right: BYD was preparing a large, boxy plug-in hybrid SUV for Britain and it clearly had the Land Rover Defender in its sights. What we could not know at the time was how aggressively BYD would price the finished UK car.
The biggest correction concerns electric range. BYD initially talked about 79 miles when it confirmed the Ti7 for Britain in May. When UK pricing and specification arrived on 31 July, the quoted WLTP combined figure had become 74 miles. That is the number Smart Motoring should use now, with the sensible caveat that BYD still marks some technical data as subject to final confirmation.
The other big gap in the old story was price. We now know the answer: £47,995 on the road, with a single Excellence AWD specification. BYD is not trying to tempt buyers with a cheap entry model and then charge heavily for the equipment people actually want. It has gone straight for a high-spec flagship.
From Fangchengbao Tai 7 to BYD Ti7
The Ti7 has an interesting family tree. In China it began life within BYD Group as the Fangchengbao Tai 7, a five-seat family SUV launched in September 2025. It uses a monocoque platform rather than the more overtly off-road-focused architecture of some Fangchengbao models.
The Chinese car has been a major success. Fangchengbao said cumulative Tai 7 sales passed 200,000 units in July 2026, roughly ten months after launch. The home-market range has also expanded quickly, including an electric flash-charging version and a longer-range DM plug-in hybrid introduced during 2026.
Britain does not simply receive that model with different badges. BYD says the seven-seat layout has been developed specifically for the UK and European markets, and the UK version uses BYD branding rather than Fangchengbao. BYD itself currently styles the model name as “Ti 7”, although “Ti7” is already common in searches and motoring coverage. Both refer to the same UK-bound SUV.
It looks like a Defender because boxy SUVs sell
Nobody needs a degree in industrial design to see what sort of customer BYD is chasing. The Ti7 has an upright bonnet, strong shoulders, chunky wheelarch extensions, a tall glasshouse and a near-vertical tail. Put it next to a Defender and the family resemblance is not exactly shy.
That does not mean the Ti7 is a direct copy. The detailing is cleaner and more overtly digital, with dual-layer LED lighting, a broad front graphic and contrasting titanium-look lower trim. The overall effect is less expedition vehicle and more “urban box”, which is precisely how BYD describes it on its UK website.
The dimensions explain the road presence. The UK car is quoted at 5,146mm long, 1,995mm wide and 1,865mm tall. In other words, this is a genuinely large SUV. Narrow British car parks may wish to lodge a formal complaint now.
Seven seats are not an afterthought
One of the biggest changes since the first article is that we now know how much practicality the UK Ti7 offers. BYD has engineered three rows of seats for Europe and Britain, rather than simply importing the five-seat Chinese cabin.
With all seven seats in use, luggage capacity is 126 litres. Fold the third row and that jumps to 970 litres. Fold the second and third rows and BYD quotes a maximum 1,830 litres. Those figures make the Ti7 a proper family hauler rather than a five-seat SUV with two emergency chairs bolted into the boot.
The middle-row seats adjust in four directions, and BYD says there is generous headroom and kneeroom across the second row. We will reserve judgement on the third row until we have sat adults in it, because manufacturers and adults do not always agree on what constitutes “seven-seat comfort”.
The standard equipment list is where the £47,995 price starts to bite
BYD is bringing only the high-spec Excellence AWD version to Britain, and the equipment list is long enough to make some premium brands reach nervously for their options brochures.
Standard equipment includes 20-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, acoustic glass for the windscreen and front windows, leather upholstery, three-zone climate control and privacy glass. The front seats and outer second-row seats are heated and ventilated.
The centrepiece is BYD’s familiar 15.6-inch touchscreen, accompanied by a 10.25-inch digital instrument display and an 18-speaker sound system. There are two 50W wireless phone chargers, while the centre console contains a refrigerator and drinks warmer. Vehicle-to-load technology can also power external electrical equipment.
Six exterior colours have been announced. Starlight Silver is included in the price; Mountain Green, Obsidian Black, Jade Green and Titanium Grey cost £1,100, while Matte Titanium Grey adds £2,000.
So, is it really a Land Rover Defender rival?
On price, size, styling and family appeal, absolutely. On proven off-road ability, towing and long-term ownership experience, it is far too early to award the Ti7 the same status.
The current Defender 110 PHEV has a quoted electric range of only 31.1 miles, compared with BYD’s 74-mile claim, and the Ti7 has considerably more quoted system power. The BYD also costs almost £24,000 less than the current Defender 110 S P300e.
But a Defender buyer may care about things BYD has not yet fully detailed for the UK: towing limits, wading depth, off-road geometry, accessory support and the sort of rough-road durability that Land Rover has spent decades selling. BYD’s own description of the Ti7 as an “urban box family SUV” is revealing. It wants the Defender look and lifestyle appeal without pretending every owner is crossing the Namib Desert on Tuesday.
That may actually be cleverer than trying to out-Defender the Defender. Most large SUVs spend far more time negotiating multi-storey car parks than river crossings.
Its UK debut has already happened
The timing of this refresh is useful because the Ti7 has now moved beyond press images and showroom promises. The 2026 British Motor Show, held at Farnborough from 21 to 23 August, named the BYD Ti7 as one of three UK car debuts at the event.
BYD then listed the Ti7 among its headline models for CarFest at Silverstone from 28 to 30 August. In other words, British buyers have now had the chance to see the car in the metal months before deliveries begin.
That matters for a vehicle whose dimensions and styling are such a big part of the proposition. A 5.1-metre SUV can look surprisingly manageable in a carefully composed photograph. A crowded motor show tends to be less forgiving.
BYD itself is a much bigger UK story than it was a year ago
There is another reason the Ti7 should be taken seriously. BYD’s UK business has accelerated at a remarkable rate.
The company recorded 37,995 UK registrations in the first half of 2026, up 95 per cent on the same period of 2025, and said it was the country’s leading seller of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles combined over that period. On 29 July it announced that cumulative UK registrations had passed 100,000.
That does not guarantee the Ti7 will succeed. Large SUVs are expensive to run, the seven-seat market is competitive and buyers at nearly £50,000 expect more than a long equipment list. But the argument that BYD is simply an unfamiliar newcomer has become much harder to sustain.
What BYD still needs to tell us
There are still holes in the final UK specification. BYD says full technical details will be confirmed in due course, and some headline figures are still marked as subject to final confirmation.
At the time of writing, BYD has not published the complete UK charging specification, official weighted fuel economy and CO2 figures, towing capacity or a full set of off-road measurements. Those details matter, particularly when the car is being compared with a Defender.
So the sensible approach is to separate what is confirmed from what is merely expected. The £47,995 price, seven-seat layout, Excellence AWD trim, 35.6kWh battery, 408PS output and January 2027 delivery timing are the solid core of the story. The rest should be updated again when BYD publishes the final homologated UK data.
Smart Motoring verdict: the Ti7 has become much more interesting
Months ago, the Ti7 looked like another eye-catching Chinese SUV with an obvious target and too many blank spaces on the specification sheet. It now looks considerably more serious.
The price is aggressive, the standard equipment is generous, the electric range is unusually useful for a large plug-in hybrid and the seven-seat conversion gives the UK car a clear reason to exist. The fact that BYD has already built a sizeable customer base here reduces another obvious barrier.
The unanswered question is not whether the Ti7 offers more equipment per pound than a Defender. It plainly does. The question is whether it can deliver the polish, durability and everyday confidence expected by buyers spending nearly £50,000 on a family SUV.
We will need a proper UK road test before answering that. For now, though, the Defender-shaped elephant in the room has a price tag, an order book and a delivery date. Land Rover can no longer pretend not to notice it.
BYD Ti7 vs Defender 110 PHEV
This is a useful showroom comparison rather than a claim that the two vehicles have identical capabilities. Prices and manufacturer figures are current at 31 August 2026.
| Comparison | BYD Ti7 Excellence AWD | Defender 110 S P300e |
|---|---|---|
| UK on-road price | £47,995 | £71,840 |
| Powertrain | DM-p plug-in hybrid AWD | P300e plug-in hybrid AWD |
| Quoted power | 408PS | 300hp |
| Quoted electric range | 74 miles WLTP | 31.1 miles |
| Acceleration | 0-62mph in 4.8sec | 0-60mph in 7.4sec |
| Positioning | Seven-seat family-focused “urban box” SUV | Established premium 4×4 with proven off-road capability |
BYD Ti7 UK specifications
| Specification | BYD Ti7 UK |
|---|---|
| Model | BYD Ti7 / BYD Ti 7 DM-p |
| UK status | Available to pre-order |
| UK price | £47,995 on the road |
| Trim | Excellence AWD |
| First showroom cars | November 2026 |
| Customer deliveries | January 2027 |
| Seating | Seven seats, UK/Europe-specific layout |
| Length | 5,146mm |
| Width | 1,995mm |
| Height | 1,865mm |
| Powertrain | BYD DM-p plug-in hybrid |
| Petrol engine | 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder |
| Engine output | 150PS |
| Electric motors | Front and rear |
| Drive | All-wheel drive |
| Combined output | 408PS / approximately 402bhp |
| Battery | 35.6kWh BYD Blade Battery, LFP |
| Electric range | Up to 74 miles WLTP combined, current BYD figure |
| 0-62mph | 4.8 seconds, current BYD figure |
| Top speed | 118mph |
| Boot, seven seats in use | 126 litres |
| Boot, third row folded | 970 litres |
| Maximum luggage capacity | 1,830 litres |
| Main touchscreen | 15.6 inches |
| Driver display | 10.25 inches |
| Audio | 18-speaker system |
| Wheels | 20-inch alloys |
| Not yet fully published | Final charging, towing, economy, CO2 and complete homologation data |
BYD Ti7 frequently asked questions
The BYD Ti7 costs £47,995 on the road in the UK. BYD is offering it in a single Excellence AWD specification.
BYD says the first Ti7s will reach UK showrooms in November 2026, with customer deliveries beginning in January 2027.
Yes. The UK and European Ti7 uses a seven-seat layout developed specifically for these markets.
BYD currently quotes up to 74 miles of electric range on the WLTP combined cycle from the 35.6kWh Blade Battery. The earlier 79-mile figure has been superseded by the July 2026 UK specification.
The UK Ti7 combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with front and rear electric motors for a quoted 408PS, or roughly 402bhp.
BYD currently quotes 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 118mph.
It is closely related to the Fangchengbao Tai 7 sold in China, but the UK model carries BYD branding and has a seven-seat layout developed for the UK and European markets.
It competes strongly on size, boxy styling, plug-in hybrid performance and price. However, the Defender has much more established off-road and towing credentials, while some final UK Ti7 capability figures are still to be confirmed.
Yes. BYD UK is accepting pre-orders. A £500 customer deposit is currently matched by a £500 BYD contribution for early adopters.
Images: BYD UK / BYD Auto
Like What You’ve Read?
For more articles like this, receive our weekly e-newsletter, including partner deals and all things motoring, register your email below.
Please note: You cannot subscribe to Smart-Motoring unless you put a tick in the checkbox below to indicate have read and agreed to our privacy policy.
