BYD Seal for Europe: shooting at Tesla Model 3 with 570 kilometers of range

Highlights BYD Seal

• Rival to Nio ET5, Xpeng P7 and Tesla Model 3
• Up to 570 kilometers range
• Also to the Netherlands

BYD is bringing the Dolphin to the Netherlands to make life less enjoyable for cars such as the MG 4 Electric and Volkswagen ID3. But Bowl Your Dreams pulls another new model from its Chinese portfolio to hit the European market. This is the BYD Seal, an electric sedan with which BYD not only targets the Xpeng’s P7 and Nio’s ET5 of this world, but also has the Tesla Model 3 in its sights. For the avid visitor of AutoWeek.nl it may not come as a big surprise that BYD is bringing the Seal to Europe. As early as September 2022, AutoWeek found the first indications that the electric sedan would also get European asphalt under its wheels.

BYD Seal

Like the BYD Dolphin, the Seal is a model that is part of BYD’s Ocean model line. In addition to an animal-friendly name, the Seal naturally has more to offer, but what exactly? Among other things, a range of up to 570 kilometers. More about that later. First the dimensions. The BYD Seal is a 4.8 meter long sedan, which is exactly one centimeter longer than the Nio ET5. However, the Dolphin is 8 centimeters shorter than the Xpeng P7 and 11 centimeters longer than the Tesla Model 3. Cars such as the Mercedes-Benz EQE (4.95 meters) and the upcoming Volkswagen ID7 (over 4.95 meters) are a size bigger. The wheelbase of the Wolfgang Egger, just like the Dolphin, and with the Ocean Aesthetics-design language overloaded BYD Seal is 2.92 meters smaller than that of the Xpeng P7 (3 meters), but a few centimeters larger than that of the Nio ET5.

The luggage compartment of the BYD Seal swallows up to 402 liters. At least, in the back. The BYD Seal also has a luggage compartment under the front cover. In that so-called frank you can store up to 43 liters of material.

BYD Seal

Up to 570 kilometers range

In China, the BYD Seal is available with a 61.4 kWh battery and with a large 80 kWh model. In Europe, the BYD Seal always has a more than 80 kWh package in its bottom. You can choose from two engine versions. There is a 313 hp rear-wheel drive variant that helps the electric sedan reach a speed of 100 km / h in 5.9 seconds. The BYD Seal kicks it in that configuration thanks to an 82 kWh battery up to an electric range of 570 kilometers.

Above that is a whopping 530 hp four-wheel drive variant with which you can zoom from a standstill to a speed of 100 km / h in just 3.8 seconds. The front electric motor sends 218 hp to the front wheels, the rear one in turn sends 318 hp to the rear wheels. This more powerful BYD Seal has a WLTP range of 520 kilometers behind its name. It has, among other things, a variable chassis. Striking: the four-wheel drive Seal has a battery pack that, at 80 kWh, is slightly smaller than that of its rear-wheel drive brother. Regardless of the powertrain chosen, the BYD Seal has a top speed of 180 km/h.

The battery pack of the BYD Seal can be filled with farm-fresh power with up to 150 kW. This means that a battery pack that has been driven down to 30 percent can be fully charged to 80 percent of its capacity in 26 minutes. A heat pump is standard, as is V2L technology (3 kW) that allows you to charge other devices. The Seal has the driving modes Eco, Normal, Sport and Snow.

BYD Seal

Interior and equipment

Just like the smaller BYD Dolphin, the BYD Seal also seems to be well stocked. For example, variants will be available in which the front seats are not only electrically heated, but also ventilated. In the four-wheel drive variant, the driver’s seat is not only eight-way adjustable, but also equipped with an adjustable lumbar support. BYD talks about seating furniture with memory functions and about the availability of things like a panoramic glass roof and privacy glass.

Just like in the BYD Atto 3 and Dolphin, we find a rotatable infotainment screen in the center of the dashboard of the Seal, which in this case has a diagonal of 15.6 inches. Behind the steering wheel is a 10.25 inch LCD display and – depending on the chosen version – BYD tops off the interior with a 12-speaker audio system.

BYD Seal

The list of standard passive and active safety systems includes Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Rear Collision Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Brake, Lane Keep Assistance, Lane Change Assist and Emergency Lane Keep. The list continues with things like a 360-degree camera, intelligent cruise control and automatic high beam.

The BYD Seal is available in four colours. BYD has six colors available for the interior color scheme.

Prices and information for the Dutch market will follow later this year. BYD talks about a market launch in August this year.