BYD Yangwang U9X Crashes During Domestic Top-Speed Test, Driver Unharmed After Checkup

On November 1, Hu Xiaoqing, General Manager of BYD's Yangwang Sales Division, announced that the Yangwang U9 Xtreme will begin an open-road top-speed challenge in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. Before heading to Abu Dhabi, the Yangwang team conducted a preliminary test domestically. On November 2, Yangwang Automobile officially released a teaser video. The video shows that test driver Jiang Wen, while conducting a 420-450 km/h test, hit the left-side guardrail, lost control of the vehicle, and then crashed into the right-side guardrail. The test vehicle was severely damaged. After a hospital examination, the driver was found to be unharmed. On November 3, Hu Xiaoqing released a video introducing the test situation. Jiang Wen is a Yangwang driver who has been with BYD for 23 years, and he volunteered for this top-speed test. According to Jiang Wen's recollection, the vehicle experienced drift during the test. After he lifted off the accelerator to correct it, the rear of the car began to sway. At 360 km/h, it hit the left guardrail, and then the steering went out of control, with the vehicle crashing from the left side into the right side. Hu Xiaoqing revealed that after learning of the accident, she called the scene, and staff told her that Jiang Wen had not gone to the hospital and was inspecting the scene. She immediately urged that Jiang Wen be taken to the hospital. Jiang Wen said that after getting out of the car, he was studying the trajectory of the vehicle from the left-side impact to the right-side impact. Jiang Wen said he only told his wife about the incident a week after the accident. In September 2025, the BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme track version made its global debut, and the official certified top speed of the car at the ATP test track in Germany was announced as 496.22 km/h.