AUTO

BYD Seals the Deal 22,000 Times

May 24, 2022

Chinese EV brand BYD opened the order books on its new Seal electric sedan yesterday— and sold 22,000 units in just a few hours.

In just six hours, the newest electric car from Warren Buffet-backed BYD sold 22,637 units. That’s enough to make the Seal a success on its own, but when you consider the fact that a) that’s just China, and b) that BYD sold more Seals in 6 hours than Tesla sold Model S sedans in 6 months … we think that’s something else, entirely.

As for the car itself, it rides on an 800V electric vehicle platform featuring “blade-style” battery packs that are conceptually similar to what Ford is using in its own EV platform. Those batteries promise 700 km of range (more than 400 miles) on a single charge on the high-end Seals. Other configurations include:

China the Seal is available in the following configurations:

Standard-range RWD Elite with a CLTC* range of 550 km starts at RMB 212,800 ($31,980 converted)
Standard range RWD Premium with a range of 550 km starts at RMB 225,800 ($33,935 converted)
Long-range RWD with a range of 700 km starts at RMB 262,800 ($39,495 converted)
Long-range AWD performance version with 650 km of range starts at RMB 289,800 ($43,555 converted)

With a claimed 3.5 sec. 0-60 time from the 530 hp on tap in the long range AWD variant and a price tag that’s considerably less than the equivalent of $45,000 US (before tax credits and incentives, even), it’s easy to see why the good-looking BYD sedan is so popular. That’s our take, anyway— what’s yours?

Do you think the BYD Seal represents a real alternative to the similarly sized Tesla Model E or Model Y, or does BYD still have a long way to go? Scroll on down to the comments section and let us know.