2023-07-30 09:00:04
BYD, the number one Chinese automobile, is already a scarecrow. The Shenzhen manufacturer, whose name is the acronym of build your dreams (“build your dreams”), has become the nightmare of European brands in the Chinese market, where it has robbed them of market share in recent years. Today, he is preparing to launch a major operation on the Old Continent.
After announcing the arrival of five electric models in France (four of which are already available in the catalog), BYD has just added a sixth. Derived from the Seal sedan (“seal”, in English), the Seal U, which we were able to briefly drive in China on a test circuit, is implicitly posed as a replacement solution for the Tesla Model Y, the car now the best sold in Europe. Bold but cautious, this SUV with relatively large dimensions (4.78 meters long) seeks to show its credentials to make a successful debut in our latitudes.
Its style is quite neutral without being cutesy and we can give it the merit of avoiding the grimacing mannerism of certain other electric models, Chinese or not. The interior opts for a very classic presentation, with seats and panels in (real) black leather. It looks like the interior of a thermal model. The large 15.6-inch screen has the particularity, as is the case on board the brand’s other models, of rotating on itself to be used in portrait or landscape mode. The assemblies and materials are of high quality – BYD knows it is expected at the turn –, while the space in the rear seats is generous and the trunk barely less. Models for the Chinese market can be optionally equipped with special karaoke equipment installed in the middle of the rear seat.
We were especially curious to drive the Seal U. This model, which will be officially unveiled at the beginning of September at the Munich show, has not yet delivered all its technical characteristics or its price, which should logically be set a little below the 50,000 euros to obtain the ecological bonus of 5,000 euros. Doing a few laps on the circuit allows you to get a clearer idea. Quickly, we understand that the manufacturer has sacrificed driving pleasure on the altar of autonomy.
Overly cautious approach to customers
The two batteries available are of high capacity (71.8 and 87 kilowatt hours) and should allow you to travel up to 500 kilometers between two full recharges, which places the Seal U at the top of the range with regard to the competition. The technology used is lithium-iron-phosphate, which allows prices to be lowered (there is no cobalt and few rare metals), but does not have particularly high efficiency, because it requires charging the boat weight issue. BYD did not communicate on the mass of the Seal U. However, it specifies that the model carries 560 kilos of batteries, which is a lot.
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