BYD Seal News

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.

BYD's hot hatch updated - but when will we see it in Oz?

BYD plots podium finish in Australia - but how will it get there?

Australians have been obsessed with SUVs for over a decade, but there are signs the infatuation is coming to an end and you can put it down to electric cars.

What if electric cars and hybrid utes aren’t the next big thing? Should you buy one or wait for hydrogen? Or do you just stick to petrol and diesel?

One of the world’s largest carmakers' recent entry into Australia is proving fruitful, as China’s BYD finds itself sitting amongst the nation's top 10 brands.But BYD hasn’t only just managed to nab itself 10th or even 9th - in June 2025 the brand was the fifth-most popular behind Toyota, Ford, Mazda and Hyundai.In fact, in the entire first half of the year BYD has sold 23,355 cars in Australia putting it ahead of competitors like Isuzu (21,883), MG (21,674), Nissan (20,604) and Subaru (19,910).The first six best-selling brands in terms in the first half of 2025 will be familiar: Toyota, Mazda, Ford, Kia, Hyundai and Mitsubishi. But then? GWM and BYD.While GWM’s growth compared to the first half of 2024 is up a steady 17.0 per cent, BYD’s rise since the same period last year is meteoric. Compared to its 9548 sales up to June 30 in 2024, BYD’s 23,355 sales so far this year means it’s up 144.6 per cent.Eighth on the ladder year-to-date is an impressive feat for a brand most Australians likely hadn’t heard of just a couple of years ago, but the brand recognition brought about by its Atto 3 and the few models launched since has clearly worked.The brand has even made it into the ute market before mainstays like Kia, with its plug-in hybrid Shark 6 ute having broken the five-figure sales barrier. The brand has shifted 10,424 Sharks since its launch earlier this year.It’s unsurprisingly BYD’s most popular model, followed by the Sealion 6 PHEV (4375 YTD) and its electric Sealion 7 sibling (3756 YTD).The Atto 3 remains popular enough despite sales halving compared to the same point last year, now 1854 units this year-to-date, followed by the Seal sedan (1609 YTD, down 60.7 per cent) and Dolphin hatch (1337 YTD, up 7.1 per cent).The only thing that seems like it could see BYD come undone is a report from last week via Reuters that production at some BYD factories has been “cut by at least a third”, but it’s yet to be seen whether this is confirmed, or whether this will have a direct impact on Australian sales.

Chinese electric car maker BYD is following a secret five-year massive growth plan, which will see it sell half its vehicles overseas by 2030. This will make it a vehicle manufacturer on the same scale as Toyota and Volkswagen, according to a new report.The report by news outlet Reuters cites four people “familiar with the matter” who said BYD’s executives have committed to an ambitious strategy, which will see the electric vehicle brand undergo such an enormous output and sales increase that the company will rival even the world’s largest car manufacturers.BYD has just become the largest selling brand in its home country of China, overtaking Volkswagen last year with 4.27 million units sold.Last year BYD sold 417,204 vehicles overseas and this year the company plans to double that number to 800,000.  The Reuters report revealed BYD met privately with the company's investors to notify them of the growth plan, but it is not known if an actual 2030 predicted sales figure was disclosed.According to the insiders the way that the company wants to be able to achieve their grand plan is by localising production throughout the world. The plan outlines the need to have factories operating in Hungary, Uzbekistan, Brazil and Thailand in order to be able achieve its goal.BYD’s global growth plan will not include the United States, where recent high tariffs against Chinese carmakers have prevented the brand selling its cars there and made the company focus on Europe as the key to its success. Australia, too, will be part of BYD’s plan. Currently Australia doesn’t impose tariffs on Chinese carmakers and this combined with our fairly new and strong interest in electric cars has seen a multitude of Chinese brands arrive here offering what the established mainstream brands could not — very affordable electric cars.  This includes brands such as Geely, Zeekr, MG and Deepal.In April this year alone BYD sold 3207 in Australia, outstripping even Volkswagen with 2076 sales by an enormous margin. And all of BYD’s cars are electric or hybrids.BYD, which started as a battery maker before turning its hand to producing vehicles, arrived in Australia in 2022 with its first EV, the Atto 3 small SUV. The brand soon brought more vehicles to Australia including the Dolphin, Seal, Sealion 6 and Sealion 7 and the Shark 6. 

Having already turned its hand to passenger cars, SUVs and utes in Australia, Chinese brand BYD appears poised to conquer the wagon segment, with details of the incoming BYD Seal Travel Edition leaking in China.

BYD might have just changed the EV game around the world, revealing a charging breakthrough that can deliver 400kms in driving range in just five minutes.

A new ultra-efficient BYD model has been exposed by China’s vehicle regulator.Dubbed the Seal 08, the all-new electric model will arrive as a sibling to the Qin L EV in China, a cut-price sedan offered with internal combustion engine (ICE), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery-electric powertrains.This model, however, will only be available with an electric powertrain. Specifically, a small 46.1kWh lithium iron phosphate Blade battery pack, paired with a 110kW electric motor.Despite its small size, the Sealion 08's 10kWh/100km efficiency means the sedan has an impressive 461km of driving range, albeit in the more lenient CLTC protocol. It also puts it comfortably ahead of the updated Tesla Model 3 (on paper), which achieves a peak rating of 13.2kWh/100km under the more stringent WLTP cycle. A top-spec variant will carry a larger 56.6kWh unit that will provide 545km, while it also gets a more powerful electric motor that delivers 160kW.In terms of design, the Seal 08 mirrors the Seal with its 'Ocean Series' silhouette, which includes the same front end, roofline and tailgate as the Seal.That said, it gets different LED headlight clusters, no fancy LED running lights on the lower bumper, physical door handles, less sophisticated wheel designs and different LED tail-lights.According to CarNewsChina, this is because it will fit under the Dynasty series in China, a more budget-friendly offering that the publication said is targeted at younger, cash-strapped buyers.The Ocean Series, which makes up most of the offerings on the Australian market, such as the Seal, Dolphin and Sealion 7, is alternatively targeted at a more upmarket clientele.As such, the Seal 08 is being floated with a price tag of around 150,000 yuan ($32,422) in China, although it would certainly carry a premium should it land in Australia.CarsGuide has contacted BYD’s local operations to determine whether the Seal 08 is a chance for the Australian market as a cut-price follow up to the brand’s more premium Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Ioniq 6 competitor, the BYD Seal.It comes after CEO of BYD’s local distributor David Smitherman told CarsGuide he was pushing for more models in Australia."BYD has got a huge appetite for Australia and is very keen to bring product to the market," said Smitherman"In my role, I’m saying let's get lots of products to Australia to meet every segment."