It appears that BYD is bringing another heavy cannon to bear in the ongoing price war with the new, fully electric Seal 06 sedan, boasting a 470 km (CLTC) range, launched in its homeland at a starting price of 109,800 yuan, or approximately 13,400 euros. The differences include a few centimeters in length, reduced power, and a shorter battery range.
It’s built on BYD’s e-Platform 3.0 Evo platform, which underpins most of its new cars and serves as an alternative to the earlier launched plug-in hybrid Seal 06 DM-i, with an 80 km pure electric range, listed at 99,800 yuan or 12,180 euros. The Seal 06 belongs to BYD’s Ocean series and was launched at the Chongqing auto show on June 7th.
One of the first BYD models in Europe
The Seal sedan was one of the first fully electric models BYD introduced in Europe. This one, in rear-wheel drive version with a 470 km (WLTP) range, a somewhat larger 61.4 kWh battery, and a 170 kW (227 hp) engine, is still listed in Belgium at a starting price of €41,500.
To compare, in China, an upgraded version of the outgoing Seal was presented in August last year in four variants, with a starting price of 175,800 yuan (approximately €22,400) and a maximum price of 239,800 yuan (approximately €30,475). This Seal, first launched in 2022 and Tesla’s fiercest rival in China for the Model 3, was priced more than €7,000 lower.
The Seal 06, now launched, is somewhat shorter (80 mm) and comes in three versions, all rear-wheel drive, with starting prices in China that Europeans can only dream of, such as 109,800 yuan (€13,400), 119,800 yuan (€14,620), and 129,800 yuan (€15,840).
Ranges up to 545 km CLTC
All three have LFP batteries, with capacities of 46.08 kWh, 56.64 kWh, and 56.64 kWh, and CLTC ranges of 470 km, 545 km, and 545 km, respectively. Bear in mind, though, that CLTC ranges tend to be 20 to 25% more favorable than European WLTP ranges. These batteries, BYD says, can be charged at up to 103 kW from 30 to 80% in 24 minutes.
Three different (rear) electric motor flavors of 110 kW (148 hp) or 160 kW (214 hp), respectively, with acceleration time varying from 4.1 seconds (0 to 50 km/h) to 3.1 seconds. The top speed is limited to 160 km/h in China.
The interior remains essentially unchanged from that of all Ocean series models, featuring a rotatable 15.6-inch screen and a small LCD instrument panel. The Seal 06 comes equipped with the DiPlink 100 infotainment system and features BYD’s God’s Eye C intelligent driving system, paired with DiPilot 100. It lacks LiDAR but utilizes a camera-based solution.
As a sedan, it still offers a considerable amount of space, featuring a ‘frunk’ in the front, 65 liters of storage, 24 storage compartments inside, and a rear trunk space of 423 liters.
