BYD has showcased its upcoming all-electric affordable city car, called the Seagull on the company’s Weibo social media channel.
The company has shared images of a green coloured example highlighting some of its exterior’s features while not revealing too much about its interior or specs.
The front lights make have sharper edge styling which give the entire front a more aggressive look.
The front also showcases a single wiper arm assemble on top of the windscreen which could work quite well given the width of the vehicle.
The side of the BYD Seagull reveals traditional door handles which are flush-fitted into the doors.
There also appears to be a two-tone colour scheme on the side with green paint and charcoal sharp-edged lower section that runs in the mid-section along the length of the car.
In the rear, the tail lights have a horizontal section making them resemble one of the earlier EVs delivered to Australia, the Holden Volt.
Earlier this year, the dimensions of the BYD Seagull were revealed in a submission to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in China.
The physical dimensions of the city car in the application were:
- 3,780 mm in length
- 1,715 in width
- 1,540 in height
For comparison, Fiat has recently revealed its 500e city car for the Australian market which is 3,631 mm in length. This could make the BYD Seagull slightly more spacious on the inside.
Other electric city EVs are also in the works from brands like Kia and Hyundai, aiming to launch several compact electric hatchback models in their home markets during 2023.
Looking at the dimensions of these compact city EVs, a comparable ICE Kia Picanto currently sells quite well in Australia. According to vFacts, 5,166 of these city hatchbacks were sold making it quite a hit amongst city car drivers and larger fleets.
The BYD Seagull is expected to be powered by a single-motor that will be fed by a 30.7 kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery pack.
This battery will be made by FinDreams which is a part of BYD itself, specialising in battery technology.
There have also been rumours in the past that the Seagull may also come equipped with a sodium-ion battery.
Pricing-wise, we expect the BYD Seagull to be starting in China for under $A20,000 which will make it one of the most affordable EVs to hit the market. Currently, the BYD Dolphin starts at under $A26,000.
BYD is set to announce more details about the BYD Seagull and its variants in the coming weeks.
It’s good to see city cars like the BYD Seagull nearing launch. There is a large market for smaller more affordable electric vehicles all across the world. We look forward to covering the launch of the BYD Seagull as more details become available.
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.