BYD New Zealand to launch another EV as Seal spotted in Melbourne

BYD has been on a bit of a winning streak with launching the Atto 3 electric SUV in 2022. This year, it’s helped the brand have the third best-selling vehicle in the Australian market while topping the New Zealand EV charts.

BYD is now set to launch another model in New Zealand, which was teased on its Facebook page last week. An image of a car under wraps was shared with the post saying: “BYD New Zealand – Can you guess what is coming?”

From the image, the front of the car appears to look a lot like the BYD Seal sedan. 

This could be big news for many electric car enthusiasts who have been waiting patiently for an update on the potential launch of the Seal in the Australian market. 

However, while some readers were excited by the news, others are wary given the disappointment after the recent announcement of the Dolphin electric hatchback’s pricing in New Zealand. 

“Will this be as over-priced as the Dolphin? Just a reminder – Tesla Model 3 is $66,400 + on roads …” one said.

Just to recap, the Dolphin’s Standard variant starts at $NZ49,990 before on-roads and will come with a 44.9 kWh BYD Blade battery. Meanwhile, the Extended variant gets a bigger 60.48 kWh battery pack at a more premium $NZ55,990. The Extended variant of the Dolphin also packs 150 kW of power and can do 0-100 km/h in 7 seconds.

The Extended version of the Dolphin is $NZ10,410 cheaper than the Model 3 RWD while the difference between the Standard Dolphin variant is $NZ16,410.

Given the Seal is BYD’s first all-electric sedan in the market, the comparison with the king of electric sedans, the Tesla Model 3, is understandable.

While the announcement in New Zealand happened, the BYD Seal that has been testing across Australia for the last couple of months was spotted again. This time it had made its way down to Melbourne.

The light-blue sedan was seen in the Melbourne suburb of Alphington as it stopped at a DC fast charger for a top-up. These images were taken by Chris Johnston and shared on Ludicrous Feed’s Twitter page:

On the back of the latest sighting in Melbourne, one fan of the electric sedan said: “Outwardly looking cool compared to many others. I’m sure many of us will be looking forward to get one 😄”.

“It’s a good looking car …will be interesting if they undercut the Model 3and  by much when it launches,” is what another member said while comparing it to the pricing of the Tesla Model 3.

The Seal in China comes in two battery packs with the base RWD model being offered with a 61.4 kWh battery pack that can deliver over 450 km of estimated WLTP range.

For those looking to travel further, a long-range model comes with 82.5 kWh battery pack. This top-of-the-range model has an NEDC range of 700 km. It’s expected to offer over 500km of the estimated WLTP range. That’s closer to the dual-motor Long Range Tesla sedans currently available in Australia.

On the Performance front, the Seal can sprint from 0 to 100 km/hr in 4.2 seconds. The Tesla Model 3 Performance does the same sprint in under 3.5 seconds (3.3 seconds as per official figures).

With a lot riding on the launch of the electric hatchback Dolphin that will be unveiled in under 10 days’ time, it’s good to see BYD planning ahead and testing the Seal. 

As seen from the comments and comparisons by EV owners and enthusiasts, the BYD Seal has to be priced right if it is to compete with the Tesla Model 3. 

The Model 3 currently starts at under $A61,300 before on-roads. Tesla is about to give the Model 3 a bump in specs and a new refreshed look in the coming months too.

Overall, all these developments are exciting for electric car adoption and we look forward to test-driving the Seal when it finally reaches our shores, potentially later this year.