BYD’s new electric hot hatch specs and name uncovered

Less than a month ago, the world’s fastest-growing car company unveiled a new electric car concept at the recent Beijing Auto Show. It was the Ocean-M electric hot hatch.

Now this electric hatch has been spotted in the government regulatory framework run by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), and uncovers key specs along with a hint on what it may be named. These most recent filings were translated and shared by Chinese EV market analyst, Thinkercar, on X. 

Starting with the price, the new model will be launched in China with a price tag equivalent to $A32,000 to $A42,000. For this price, the hatchback will be available in two power configurations. 

The entry-level rear-wheel-drive base variant will be powered by a 160 kW motor. A dual-motor version of the car will also be offered with 310 kW of power.

From the filing, it’s also clear that this hatchback will be performance-focused and can reach speeds of up to 200 km/h which surpasses the BYD Seal’s current 180 km/h limit.

On the battery front, it will be using a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry battery and is likely to be BYD’s own blade battery which is used in all its vehicles, including performance-orientated vehicles like the Seal.

BYD is expected to call the new vehicle in its lineup the Seal X which could be what the brand names its sportier cars moving forward.

At the Beijing Auto Show, BYD noted that the new hatchback will be built on a new all-electric platform. In recent days, the new e-Platform 3.0 EVO has been revealed. 

This new architecture does feature faster motors and charging speed improvements and is likely to be featured in the Seal X, after launching on the larger Sea Lion 07 SUV which was also launched last week.

The new hot hatch is unlike the locally available Dolphin hatchback, especially when it comes to sportiness.

There was once a chance for Australia to get a sports version of the Dolphin when the model was unveiled locally back in June. Since then, that variant has been removed from the lineup and the Seal sedan is the closest vehicle to a sports sedan in the market.

The production of Seal X hatch will begin in the third quarter of this year with customer deliveries soon to follow. Details around pricing and specs are likely to be released in the coming months.