BYD Seal EV Model to Begin Mass Production in June

The BYD Seal vehicle will begin mass production this month, with an estimated monthly capacity of 15,000 units, according to a Weibo post of Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, on June 12.

The Seal is a mid-sized EV based on the e-platform 3.0 architecture, and is the second model from BYD’s Marine Life range of EVs, following the Dolphin. Four models are expected to be launched, with the pre-sale price ranging from 212,800 yuan to 289,800 yuan ($31,582 – $43,010). A total of 22,637 orders were placed within seven hours after pre-sale was opened on May 20.

The body size of the Seal model is 480018751460 mm and the wheelbase reaches 2920 mm. The new car adopts CTB (cell-to-body) technology, iTAC technology and rear-wheel drive architecture for the first time. On the central control, Corsair adopts the latest DiLink intelligent network connection system with a 15.6-inch-screen Adaptive Rotating Suspension Pad, which can support 5G network connection.

According to data released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the BYD Seal is available in three power versions: a 550km range version with a single motor at the rear, total power of 150kW and total torque of 310N-m, and an acceleration time of 7.5 seconds; a 700km range version with a single motor at the rear, total power of 230kW and total torque increased to 360N-m, and an acceleration time of 5.9 seconds; a 650km range version with dual motors at the front and rear, total power of 390kW and total torque of 670N-m, and an acceleration time of 3.8 seconds.

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According to statistics released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on June 10, the sales volume of passenger cars in China reached 1.354 million in May, down 16.9% year-on-year. BYD ranked second in the month, with retail sales of 114,000 vehicles, representing a year-on-year increase of 159.5%.