BYD will add a seven-seat plug-in-hybrid SUV to its line-up later this year to challenge the big-selling Land Rover Defender.

Sized between the 110 and 130 variants of the Defender, the Ti7 will be the first UK-bound car to use the Chinese brand’s new performance-focused ‘DM-p’ powertrain.

This comprises a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol engine, two electric motors (one per axle) and a 35.6kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery pack. 

Technical details for UK-bound cars have yet to be confirmed in full, but BYD claims a 0-62mph time of 4.8sec and it has an official electric-only range of 79 miles. 

The Ti7's chunky styling evokes classical 4x4s such as the Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser, with bluff edges and a spare wheel carrier mounted on the boot.

Although it will be sold in the UK under the BYD brand, it's effectively a larger sibling of the Denza B5 that's also due to arrive here later this year.

In their native China, both the B5 and Ti7 are sold by BYD’s upmarket, youth-focused Fangchengbao brand.

Asked why the Ti7 isn't being sold as a Denza, a spokesperson for BYD UK told Autocar that the differentiation is because the body-on-frame B5 was concevied as an off-roader, while the monocoque Ti7 is meant for buyers who would like rugged styling but may not need off-road capabilities. 

In China, the Ti7 can also be had with a battery-electric powertrain compatible with BYD’s ‘Flash’ chargers, which are capable of delivering up to 1500kW.

A network of 300 such chargers is due to be built in the UK this year to support the launch of the Denza Z9 GT, but it remains to be seen whether the fully electric Ti7 will also come here.

Prices for the Ti7 are due to be confirmed in the coming weeks, but it will most likely be positioned as BYD's flagship – above the Sealion 7 electric SUV, which tops out at £59,025.

It's possible that the Ti7 will make its UK debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, given that the event is just weeks away and BYD has had a significant presence there in the past two years.