Chinese new energy vehicle maker BYD (Build Your Dreams) has launched its first electric sedan – Seal, in India. It is the company’s third electric vehicle in the country, following the all-electric e6 (₹29.15 lakh, ex-showroom) and Atto 3 (₹33.99 lakh, ex-showroom). The latest BYD electric car is also its most premium offering in the country yet, with a starting ex-showroom price of Rs 41 lakh and a jaw-dropping range of 650 km on a single charge.
The new BYD Seal is available in three variants.
- The Dynamic variant offering rear-wheel drive (RWD) capabilities is available at Rs 41 lakh ex-showroom.
- The Premium variant, which also features RWD, is available at Rs 45.55 lakh ex-showroom.
- The top Performance variant, which offers all-wheel drive (AWD) functionality, is available at Rs 53 lakh ex-showroom.
If we talk about the colour choices for the new BYD Seal, customers will have four options to choose from, namely Arctic Blue, Atlantis Grey, Aurora White, and Cosmos Black
Not many people know that China’s top-selling EV maker BYD has been around for almost two decades in India (16 years). BYD primarily focused on commercial vehicles, including e-buses, e-trucks, and e-forklifts but with its third electric car now in India, the company is clearly targeting the EV sector in the country as the demand for such vehicles is steadily increasing.
Being the official e-mobility partner of the UEFA EURO 2024, the Chinese brand is attracting buyers for the new Seal EV by offering UEFA match tickets and even round-trip flights to the matches.
However, this exclusive scheme will be available to those booking the BYD Seal by April 30. Moreover, BYD has set the booking amount to Rs 1.25 lakh. Details about the winners will be provided on BYD’s official social media account.
BYD Seal: Battery and Range
Indian market will get two battery options for Seal: 61.44kWh and 82.56KWh.
BYD Seal’s Premium variant is set to deliver a remarkable range of up to 650 km on a single charge. On the other hand, the Dynamic variant will deliver a 510 km range and the Performance variant will deliver a 580 km range.
Also, the BYD seal will generate 230 horsepower and 360Nm of torque, helping the sedan EV to reach 100 kmph in just 5.9 seconds.
BYD claims that with a 150KW charger, the Seal EV can be charged from 10% to 80% in only 37 minutes. However, charging it with a regular 11kW AC charger will take around 8.5 hours to go from 0-100%.
BYD Seal: Design and Features
With dimensions of 4,800 mm (length), 1,875 mm (width), and 1,460 mm (height), the Seal EV design is based on BYD’s Ocean-X concept. It has a wheelbase of 2920mm and offers a boot space of 320 litres. Moreover, the car has a sleek design and boasts an impressive aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.219Cd. On the outside, the car features crystal LED headlights with boomerang-shaped LED daytime running lights (DRLs).
Inside the cabin, there is an impressive 15.6-inch rotatable touch screen and a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display. Other featured highlights are – a panoramic sunroof, a 360-degree camera, a heads-up display, and two wireless charging pads.
BYD Seal: Safety
BYD Seal EV received an impressive 5-star safety rating in EURO NCAP crash tests. The standout feature was the EV’s high score in various categories, including 89% for adult occupants, 87% for child occupants, 82% for Vulnerable Road Users, and 76% for Safety Assist.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), encompassing safety functionalities such as lane departure warning and prevention, lane keep assist, emergency braking assist, collision warning system, adaptive cruise control, cross traffic alert, and blind spot assist are some of the notable safety features in the BYD Seal electric sedan.
With the price set from 41 lakhs (ex-showroom) for Dynamic variant to 53 lakhs (ex-showroom) for AWD Performance variant, BYD SEAL will compete with cars like Hyundai IONIQ 5 (Rs 45.95 Lakh, ex-showroom) Kia EV6 (Rs 60.95-65.95 lakh, ex-showroom), and Volvo XC40 Recharge (57.90 Lakh, ex-showroom).
