BYD revealed the exterior design of the Seal sedan ahead of its debut at the Beijing Auto Show later this month. The fully electric four-door model is a follow-up to last year’s Ocean-X concept and will be based on BYD’s new electric architecture called the e-platform 3.0. The Seal continues the ocean-themed nomenclature in BYD’s range, where marine life names are reserved for EVs like the Dolphin and warship names for PHEVs like the Destroyer. Styling-wise the Seal is an evolution of the futuristic concept with similar dynamic lines and slightly toned-down features including the LED lighting units and the conventional wheels. Overall the model is a testament to the significant improvement in the design standards of Chinese automakers.
According to leaked documents the BYD Seal
measures 4,800 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,460 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,920 mm. Those dimensions
make it slightly larger than the Tesla Model 3 and more in line with the Nio
ET5 and the BMW i3 eDrive35L. A similar footprint is expected from the upcoming
Toyota bZ SDN which will allegedly use BYD’s technology.
The specs of the car that is underpinned
by BYD’s e-platform 3.0 were also leaked as part of local homologation. The EV
comes with a single rear-mounted electric motor producing 150 kW or 230 kW (201
or 308 hp), while the flagship features a dual-motor setup. This combines a 160
kW (214 hp) motor at the front and a 230 kW (308 hp) motor at the rear allowing
a 0-100 km/h acceleration in 3.8 seconds. BYD’s Blade 800V battery
allows a range of up to 700 km. Depending on the variant, the BYD
Seal weighs from 1,885 kg to 2,150 kg .
Local media suggest the BYD Seal will cost
between ¥ 220,000-280,000 (US$ 34,500-44,000), making it a lot cheaper than the
Tesla Model 3 which starts from ¥ 339,900 (US$ 53,400) in China. Mind you, BYD’s
new EV won’t be reserved for the Chinese market. BYD has confirmed it will be
offered in Australia from 2023 under the Atto 4 name, while other markets could
follow.
