BYD Seal: A seal as a Tesla hunter

2023-10-28 11:00:01

The young Chinese car manufacturer BYD (pronounced: Bi:Wei:Di) has only been represented in Austria with its vehicles for just over ten months. The rapidly growing brand, which only offers fully electric vehicles in this country, already has five car models on the market – Dolphin, Atto 3, Seal, Han and Tang.

Great expectations rest on the two most recent additions, the compact BYD Dolphin (see box on the right) and, above all, on the mid-range sedan Seal (which also stands for seal in English), which is targeting Tesla’s Model 3.

Design by ex-Alfa man

With an external length of 4.8 meters, the Chinese seal towers over its competitor from the USA by a full eight centimeters. The look of the Seal is calm and avoids anything over-designed; the BYD obviously wants to please everyone.

By the way, the limousine was designed by Wolfgang Josef Egger. The 60-year-old Bavarian was formerly chief designer at Alfa Romeo, Seat and Audi.

For the time being, the BYD Seal is available at the current 28 dealers in Austria with two drives: with rear-wheel drive and an output of 230 kW (313 hp) and as an all-wheel drive variant with 390 kW (530 hp). Both versions have a lithium iron phosphate battery on board with a capacity of 82.5 kilowatt hours (kWh). The Seal is the first BYD model in which the battery is a structural body element (cell-to-body), which increases torsional rigidity.

The battery can be charged with up to 11 kW (AC) on the wallbox or 150 kilowatts (DC) on the quick charger. Various competitors can do this better because they are much faster. The charging cable finds space in the so-called “frunk” (combination of “front” and “trunk”), i.e. in the front charging compartment.

The WLTP ranges are up to 570 kilometers (rear-wheel drive) or 520 kilometers (all-wheel drive).

Tidy interior with lots of leather
Image: BYD

Entry from 42,980 euros

The very clear price list for the BYD Seal starts at 47,990 euros (rear-wheel drive), the all-wheel drive version costs exactly 3000 euros more. You can deduct the subsidies from the prices, so the Seal doors currently open from 42,980 or 45,980 euros.

The equipment of both versions is extremely complete and includes a glass panoramic roof, leather interior, a 90-degree rotatable touch screen (15.6 inches), heat pump, vehicle-to-load for charging external electrical devices, seat heating/cooling, 360 degrees -Camera and a six-year warranty (up to 150,000 kilometers).

BYD Dolphin ab 25.980 Euro

The second new addition to the BYD showrooms is the
4.3 meter long Dolphin. Two drive variants are available for the fully electric five-door car: an electric motor with 70 kW (95.2 hp) and a battery with 45 kWh enable a WLTP range of up to 331 kilometers. The battery is charged with up to 7 (AC) or 88 kW (DC). Available from 25,980 euros (subsidies already deducted).

The second drive unit includes an electric motor with 150 kW (204 hp) and 60.4 kWh battery and a range of up to 427 kilometers (WLTP). Charging is carried out with 11 or 88 kW. Available to buy from 30,980 euros (Comfort) and 32,980 euros (Design); Funding has been withdrawn.