BYD says its “Atto 4” Seal a big success as orders open

The BYD Seal – which is expected to follow the Atto 3 onto the Australian market – attracted a great deal of interest in its first hours of orders in China.

Predicted to be the ” most important model in BYD’s history” according to Chinese media, the electric sedan went on sale on Friday.

It is available in four variants, including two standard-range RWDs, a long-range RWD and a high-performance dual-motor version.

Just seven hours after BYD opened orders for the Seal, the company said it took 22,637 orders for the Model 3-like electric sedan.

CNEVPost reported the news, adding that BYD did not say which variants are proving the most popular.

Having previously said it expects to sell 30,000 BYD Seals a month, this means that 75% of the first month worth of orders is already account for.

BYD shared the figures at 10pm (China time) Friday night, just seven hours after the Seal went on sale.

In March, BYD importer EV Direct confirmed with The Driven that the BYD Seal will come to Australia. It is currently penciled in for the second quarter of 2023, although a swathe of pandemic and supply chain challenges may stand in its way.

Although confirmation of local specifications are a way off, in China the Seal is available in the following configurations:

• Standard-range RWD Elite with a CLTC* range of 550 km starts at RMB 212,800 ($A44,909 converted)
• Standard range RWD Premium with a range of 550 km starts at RMB 225,800 ($A47,653 converted)
• Long-range RWD with a range of 700 km starts at RMB 262,800 ($A55,461 converted)
• Long-range AWD performance version with 650 km of range starts at RMB 289,800 ($A61,159 converted)

When the BYD Seal does arrive, it will ditch the Chinese aquatic theme that also guided the naming of the Dolphin hatchback.

Instead, it will follow the Atto3 naming convention. Although EV Direct would not confirm which number it will bear, it is thought it will be the “Atto 4”.

BYD will in July introduce the Atto 3 to Australia, when, it is understood, several thousand orders will be fulfilled. EV Direct CEO Luke Todd told The Driven that nine out of 10 orders thus far have been for the extended-range variant.

*CLTC is China’s version of NEDC, and is similarly optimistic in terms of driving range claims.