BYD Seal owners receive a much anticipated OTA update

The BYD Seal, the electric sedan that has already become one of the best selling EVs in Australia since its launch late last year, has delivered its first over-the-year software update.

This week, many BYD Seal owners have started to receive the over-the-air (OTA) update requesting them to upgrade to the car’s V1.1 version.

One of these owners is Tom, an EV YouTuber and reader of The Driven, who received this update and shared it on X. 

According to the version 1.1 upgrade instructions pop up, several new features have been added. These include:

• Daytime running light controls
• New menu languages
• Owners manual
• App store

On top of these new features, several existing features have gone through “optimization”. Optimised features include:

• Optimisation of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) functionality
• Reduction in sound that various vehicle functions make
• Air conditioning function adjustments
• Child presence detection system optimised

The sounds and chimes that the Seal owners have been hearing involve speed sign detections, lane keep assist warnings and other driver assistance features. Some owners have been switching these features off every time they get in the car.

With there being improvements in sounds and chimes as part of this update, it would improve the driving experience as well as save time spent turning these features off on every drive.

As one other owner described this update on a BYD Seal owner’s facebook group: “Software is a big improvement.”

In recent months, the BYD Seal has been one of the big sellers from BYD. Last month, it sold 619 units, making it one of the best-selling EVs in the market. 

Since deliveries began back in December, over 1650 of these examples have been delivered to owners across the country. Over 1200 have been in 2024.

The BYD Seal is offered in three variants with the base Dynamic model starting at under $50,000, and the top Performance starting at $68,798 before on roads.

• Dynamic – $49,888 before on-roads
• Premium – $58,798 before on-roads
• Performance – $68,798 before on-roads

The dynamic entry model of the car comes equipped with a single-motor rear-wheel-drive powertrain that delivers 150 kW of power and up to 310 Nm of torque. It helps the car accelerate the car from 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds.

Feeding the powertrain is BYD’s 61.44 kWh blade battery pack that can delivers up to 460 km of WLTP range. 

A bigger 82.56 kWh battery pack is also on offer in the Premium and Performance models. In the Premium variant, the range is bumped up to 570 km on the WLTP cycle.