Yahoo Autos Chinese automaker says it may bring superhero-style SUV with maritime capabilities to market: 'We are ... testing its appeal'
At the Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland in February, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD unveiled a plug-in hybrid SUV that can do much more than even the most advanced EV on the market. The Yangwang U8 is capable of floating on water.
To be clear, this is not a vehicle meant to be used both on land and in the water. It's meant to float in the case of an accident in which the vehicle ends up in water, or an event like a flash flood.
Unfortunately, this type of technology might become necessary, as floods only continue to increase across the planet as a result of global heating.
In northwestern China last summer, 21 people lost their lives and several more went missing in a flash flood. Less than a month later, Greece was hit with what Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called "one of the most powerful storms to ever hit Europe." At least 15 people died in the flooding that followed.
If a driver ends up in floodwater, the U8 will do a handful of things that allow it to operate in water, like elevate its suspension, turn off its engine, switch its heating and air conditioning system to recalculation mode, and seal its windows. It can reportedly stay afloat for up to 30 minutes despite weighing roughly 7,700 pounds.
While it's not meant to "drive" in water, the U8 is capable of moving at speeds up to 1.8 miles per hour while floating and can be maneuvered, as demonstrated in a video posted to YouTube by CarNewsChina.
