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Thanks to regulatory filings in China, we have what might be our first look at an updated version of BYD’s Sealion 8 three-row hybrid SUV.
Known as the Tang and Tang L in China, the new version of the car filed with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology adopts similar styling to BYD’s flagship Great Tang SUV, which debuted earlier this year.
This means a refreshed light profile in the front with a single light bar panel, a smoother profile across the body, tweaked rear light bar designs, more subtle logo work and an overall more premium feel. It also scores either 20- or 21-inch alloy wheels in fresh designs, and replaces the electronic pop-out doorhandles, now banned in China, with flush-set handles.
For now, the new version of the car has only been filed in fully electric form equipped with a 300kW single electric motor, while the Sealion 8 version we get in Australia is only a plug-in hybrid.
At over five meters long, the Tang has grown slightly over the outgoing model. Its interior is yet to be revealed, but is likely to include at least some of the cabin styling and features from the Great Tang flagship luxury SUV.
It features a new steering wheel design, passenger-side entertainment screen, plaid leather seat trim, with an evolution of the geometric dash features which the Sealion 8 originally brought to the Australian market.
It is likely it could be some time before such upgrades make it to our market, as BYD’s model strategy continues to diverge between its Chinese domestic line-up and its export market models.
For example, Australia won’t receive the major updates to the BYD Atto 3 seen in the Chinese market. Instead, we’ll be getting the ‘Evo’ facelifted version, which has already debuted in Europe.
Meanwhile the existing Sealion 8 has had a fairly robust year in Australia, having moved nearly five and a half thousand units in the first half of the year.
This number was significantly boosted by a ship arrival, which accounted for 1961 units in June alone, but even without this boost the Sealion 8 has racked up more registrations than popular rivals like the Hyundai Santa Fe (3089 units), Kia Sorento (2752 units) and the ageing Toyota Kluger (2475 units) so far in 2026.
In its current form in Australia, the BYD Sealion 8 is priced from $56,990 before on-roads for the entry level front-wheel drive Dynamic, to $70,990 before on-roads for the AWD Premium.
It produces either 205kW/315 in base FWD form, or 359kW/679Nm in AWD form as combined figures generated from its 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and either single or dual electric motor set-ups.
BYD has shot to second position in the Australian new-car sales charts in the first half of the year, off the back of a massive model range expansion as well as dedicated ship deliveries to our market.
It is already 10,000 units ahead of the previously second-placed Ford, having jumped 124.1 per cent year-on-year. It is second only to Toyota, although it appears to be closing the gap with Toyota down 21.4 per cent thanks to delays in the arrival of the new RAV4.
Expect to learn more about the BYD Sealion 8 shortly as the official Chinese reveal nears.
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