BYD has officially unveiled the latest addition to its growing range of all electric vehicles – a sleek electric SUV that is based around the Seal sedan but comes out slightly bigger than the Model Y of EV rival Tesla.
The Sea Lion is based on the same technology as the recently announced BYD Seal in the Australian market, and will be slightly longer and wider than the Tesla Model Y at 4.83 metres long, 1.925m high and 1.62m wide.
Design-wise, from the front, the BYD Sea Lion, shares the front with the Seal although it is 160 mm taller. The rear also resembles the Seal’s cascading light bar that runs from one end to the other.
The side profile of the Sea Lion resembles the sporty fastback SUV from brands like Audi – perhaps no surprise given that the Wolfgang Egger, the head of design at BYD was previously the head designer at multiple European brands, including Audi, Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini.
On the pricing front, the new electric SUV will be priced in China at 200,000 RMB which equates to around $A42,600. This is slightly higher than the Seal sedan which starts at the equivalent of $A40,300 in the Chinese market. The top-of-the-range Sea Lion will start at the equivalent of $A56,750 in the Chinese market.
BYD is the second best selling electric brand in Australia, largely through the popular Atto 3 electric SUV. But while it trails Tesla sales significantly in Australia, at a global level it is challenging Tesla as the biggest selling EV brand
In recent times BYD has been launching multiple new models every year, much quicker than traditional automakers – and Tesla – while allowing more choices to drivers looking at making the switch.
Image: BYD via WeiboOn the pricing front, the new electric SUV will be priced in China at 200,000 RMB which equates to around $A42,600. This is slightly higher than the Seal sedan which starts at the equivalent of $A40,300 in the Chinese market. The top-of-the-range Sea Lion will start at the equivalent of $A56,750 in the Chinese market.
BYD is the second best selling electric brand in Australia, largely through the popular Atto 3 electric SUV. But while it trails Tesla sales significantly in Australia, at a global level it is challenging Tesla as the biggest selling EV brand
In recent times BYD has been launching multiple new models every year, much quicker than traditional automakers – and Tesla – while allowing more choices to drivers looking at making the switch.
While revealing the Sea Lion to the world at the Guangzhou auto show, BYD also showcased the line-up of ground-up EVs. These included vehicles in multiple segments:
- BYD Seagull – Micro City Car
- BYD Dolphin – City Car
- BYD Seal – Large family sedan
- BYD Sea Lion – Large family SUV
Locally, other larger SUV models have been spotted testing across the country. This includes the Song Plus SUV with a potential launch in the first half of next year.
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.