BYD will add Seal sedan to European lineup

BYD says the Seal midsize sedan will join its European lineup in 2023.

The Chinese automaker, which unveiled the Seal at the Paris auto show on Monday, is also deciding whether to start European imports from China of its Dolphin small hatchback.

BYD is one of China’s key electric car producers. It is starting its European offensive with three models, the Atto 3 compact crossover, the Han midsize sedan and the Tang seven-seater midsize SUV.

Pere Brugal, head of sales for BYD in Europe, said no precise date had been set for the Seal’s launch in Europe, but it would be “possibly next year.”

The Seal is a 4700 mm long sedan which would slot into BYD’s EV lineup just under the Han. It uses an evolution of the 3.0 battery electric platform on which the Atto 3 is based.

The Seal is the first car from BYD with a cell-to-body technology that increases body stiffness by 100 percent versus a conventional car, said BYD’s head of Europe, Michael Shu, in Paris.

Prices of the three initial BYD models were announced last month, with the Atto 3 compact crossover costing 38,000 euros ($36,480), while the midsize models, the Tang SUV and the Han sedan, have been priced at 72,000 euros.

Brugal said BYD is also considering launching the Dolphin small car in Europe due to the popularity of such cars among European buyers.

The hatchback, already on sale in China, is 4100 mm long and 1570 mm tall, and sits on the same 3.0 platform underpinning the Atto 3.

The largest battery offered in China for the hatchback is 44.9-kilowatt-hours, which provides over 400 km (264 miles) of range in the NEDC cycle.

The first deliveries of the Atto 3, Tang and Han models have started in Europe and were celebrated during an event here at the Paris show. A BYD showroom has opened in the city, to cater for the French market.

Sales are underway in Norway, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, as well as Israel.

A second phase, starting before the end of the year, will include Europe’s top markets, Germany, France and the UK. Italy and Spain will follow in 2023.

BYD has signed up three European auto retail groups for its expansion in the region.

Hedin Mobility will distribute BYD vehicles in Germany and Sweden, while Louwman Group will be responsible for distribution in the Netherlands and the Nic. Christiansen Group will distribute vehicles in Denmark.

In the first eight months, BYD sold 974,348 electrified passenger vehicles globally, a 274 percent jump from a year earlier.

This figure is composed of 487,188 EVs and 487,160 plug-in hybrids, according to the company, with the majority of vehicles delivered in China.