BYD Seal owners get surprise new feature as brand hits 25,000 sales in Australia

BYD, one of the fastest-growing brands in Australia, has surprised owners of its Seal electric sedan by introducing a new feature that will improve the overall ownership experience for many.

Owners of BYD Seal now have access to digital keys on their phones which will allow them to unlock the car and drive it without carrying a physical key. This feature was first observed by multiple owners of the sedan, including owner Tom from Ludicrous Feed on YouTube.

In the recent video, Tom demonstrates the setup of the key on an Apple iPhone and an Apple Watch which can be then used to unlock the car via tapping the device on the side mirror.

Once the car is unlocked, it can be turned on with the device remaining in the car and driven like owners normally would.

One thing worth noting is that the update came without much warning and in Tom’s case, the update took a minute or so to complete with the centre screen rebooting.

The digital key then also appears in the latest version of the BYD app and can be accessed by the owner while sharing it with others who may also drive the car.

This improves the ownership experience for many BYD owners who no longer need to keep a physical key in their pocket. It appears to also work for those with an Android device.

It’s good to see BYD owners starting to receive these updates and at this stage, it’s unclear if BYD Atto 3 and Dolphin will be receiving these. 

Meanwhile, BYD revealed a key milestone last week with sales now surpassing 25,000 vehicles in Australia. On EV Direct, BYD’s local distributor, Linkedin page, the company shared: “🚨 25,000 BYD vehicles are now on Australian roads 🚨 Since launching in Australia, 25,000 new energy enthusiasts are sitting behind the wheel of BYD technology.”

This is a big achievement and comes just two years after the brand launched in the Australian market with the Atto 3 being the first car to see customer deliveries.

The majority of the 25,000 sales have been battery electric vehicles with the company’s plug-in hybrid, the Sealion 6, making up a few hundred sales of the total tally.

BYD currently offers the Dolphin, Atto 3 and the Seal sedan in the local market with plans for other pure EV models in the near future.

The BYD Seal’s latest update brings BYD’s digital experience the closest to that many Tesla owners have. We look forward to seeing more EVs offer the option for digital keys as many more models land in the Australian market.

Video demonstrating BYD Seal’s new digital key feature

Riz Akhtar

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.