BYD has seen its Australian sales rise in 2023 with sales of the popular Atto 3 electric SUV reaching 6,196 in the first six months of the year.
As the brand sells more of the Atto 3, it has been preparing to launch other models, including the upcoming BYD Seal sedan and the sub-$40,000 BYD Dolphin.
Sightings of BYD Seal test vehicles on local roads is on the rise with the latest being shared by one of The Driven’s readers, Jason Ellis, who took a few photos of one driving near the Roseville bridge in Sydney.
The latest photos show the other end of a car being tested with no visible rear number plates. It does though have the signature “Build Your Dream” badge on the back along with the flush door handles.
There doesn’t appear to be any other visible signage on the rear of the car which may signify the variant of the Seal. The top-of-the-range variant for example has “3.8S” which is indicative of the time it takes for that car to reach 100 km/h from a standstill.
Looking at the wheels, it appears to be sitting on 18-inch wheels which are likely to be offered in the base model of the car.
This variant is powered by a 61.4 kWh battery pack which feeds the single rear-mounted motor producing 150 kW of power and 310 Nm or Torque. Unlike the 3.8S-badged variant, this model sprints to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds.
The powertrain setup helps this model achieve over 460 km of estimated WLTP range which puts it just under the Model 3 RWD range which stands at 491 km.
On dimensions, the BYD Seal is a longer car compared to the Model 3, coming in at 4,800 mm in length. The additional length could translate to more room in the cabin but that’s yet to be confirmed when the car is officially launched in Australia later this year.
The next 18 months look quite exciting for the relatively new brand with multiple EV launches slated for Australia. The Seal of course would be one of them following the recent launch of Australia’s most affordable EV, the BYD Dolphin.
The demand for the Dolphin has been quite good which gives a bit of a sneak peek of how the Seal may be received as it completes its local testing before its official launch.
In a recent interview with The Driven, Luke Todd, local BYD importer, EV Direct, CEO, commented on the demand for the Dolphin by saying: “It’s exceeded our expectations. The pre-order volume was higher than we had forecasted, which is always a good indication,”.
With the second-best-selling EV brand now launching new models after extensive local testing, drivers are bound to have more options when it comes to EVs that have been tested for Australian conditions. More on the local launch to come in the coming months.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.