Popular SUVs this BYD EV is outselling

Production Editor
Comment

China’s BYD has been on a cracking hot streak for months now and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

One vehicle in particular, the BYD Sealion 7 mid-size electric SUV, has been performing incredibly well in the fiercely competitive mid-size SUV segment.

In September BYD sold a total of 1887 examples of the Sealion 7, making it the third best-selling mid-size SUV for the month.

It was behind only the Tesla Model Y (3927 sales) and the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (2554 sales). The latter was on track to be Australia’s best-selling vehicle earlier this year.

Hot on the heels of the Sealion 7 were some of the biggest heavy-hitters when it comes to mid-size family SUVs.

These include the Mitsubishi Outlander (1785 sales), Mazda CX-5 (1725 sales), Hyundai Tucson (1588 sales), Subaru Forester (1414 sales), Nissan X-Trail (1403 sales), Kia Sportage (1336 sales) and the GWM Haval H6 (1037 sales).

2026 BYD Sealion 7 Performance [Image: Glen Sullivan]

It’s worth noting that all of the aforementioned vehicles that outsold the Sealion 7 last month, besides the Tesla Model Y, have a combustion engine of some form. This makes the Sealion 7 the second best-selling electric vehicle (EV) for the month.

For context, other electric mid-size SUVs, especially those also sourced from China, didn’t sell anywhere near as well. Examples include the Deepal S07 (23 sales), Geely EX5 (279), Leapmotor C10 (71) and the Zeekr 7X (53).

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay up to date with the CarsGuide weekly newsletter

By subscribing you agree to our Privacy Policy.

Even electric mid-size SUVs from other, more mainstream brands didn’t sell as well. Examples include the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (33), Kia EV5 (307), Subaru Solterra (2), Toyota bZ4X (80), as well as the Volkswagen ID.4 (177) and the ID.5 (56).

2026 BYD Sealion 7 Performance [Image: Glen Sullivan]

September wasn’t the only month the BYD Sealion 7 has had strong sales. Over the first nine months of 2025 a total of 8483 sales have been made.

While this is considerably less than year-to-date sales of segment leaders like the Toyota RAV4 (35,118) and the Tesla Model Y (17,237), it’s above rivals like the Honda CR-V (4337) and the Volkswagen Tiguan (2734).

The BYD Sealion 7 launched in Australia in February this year as the Chinese carmaker’s key rival to the top-selling Tesla Model Y.

2026 BYD Sealion 7 Premium [Image: Chris Thompson]

It’s offered in two trim levels, Premium and Performance, and are priced from $54,990 and $63,990 before on-road costs, respectively.

Until the end of October BYD is also throwing in a $2000 credit with any Sealion 7 (and Shark 6) purchase that can be spent on “approved products and services” like accessories, car care and merchandise.

Jack Quick

Production Editor

CarsGuide's Production Editor since 2025, Jack previously spent four years at CarExpert, quickly establishing himself as one of the industry's most prolific young motoring journalists.

About Jack

Comments