BYD opens door for wagon comeback in Oz

BYD has opened the door for a hybrid wagon renaissance in Australia, with a launch in the UK for its long-range hybrid Seal Touring.

The 2026 BYD Seal 6 Touring, to give it its full name, has launched in the UK to join the sedan body style in the right-hand drive market.

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While sedans have become more niche in Australia over the last couple of decades, the plug-in hybrid BYD Seal has shifted an impressive 3371 units in 2025 excluding December.

The brand’s UK website lists its Touring specifications as either a 135kW ‘Boost’ variant or a 156kW ‘Comfort’ variant. The former has a 10.08kWh battery with 50km of EV driving range, and the latter a 19.0kWh battery with 100km under WLTP testing.

Both have the same claimed total WLTP driving range of 1350km.

In Australia, the Seal is available in 150kW or 230kW as a rear-wheel drive version, or 390kW as the AWD performance variant. In its fastest variant, BYD says the Seal can hit 100km/h in 3.8 seconds, but the UK’s Touring has a claimed time of 8.5 seconds.

CarsGuide has contacted BYD Australia to determine the likelihood of the Seal Touring launching locally, but has been given no indication either way previously.

Currently the BYD Seal starts from $49,888 for the base Dynamic, up to $68,798 for the Performance AWD.