A camouflaged prototype of what seems to be the BYD Seal U SUV has been spied in Australia.
Photos shared to the Fb group Tesla Homeowners Australia present the Seal U prototype has Victorian licence plates on it, although it’s unclear if the automotive was really photographed in Victoria.
The prototype within the pictures seems to be a plug-in hybrid model of the Seal U as on the entrance there are additional grille slats that the all-electric model doesn’t have. There additionally seems to be an exhaust pipe tucked beneath the rear bumper.
BYD hasn’t supplied a plug-in hybrid car in Australia up to now, although its forthcoming ute is known to supply a plug-in hybrid powertrain along with an all-electric one.
A spokesperson for native BYD distributor EVDirect has beforehand mentioned a mid-sized SUV can be “on the product checklist on the market and supply in 2024”, however didn’t affirm the precise mannequin and kind.
As beforehand reported, the BYD Seal U is the export identify for what’s often called the Track Plus Champion Version in China. In Europe this mannequin can be electric-only.
In China, the Track Plus DM-i Champion Version plug-in hybrid is powered by a 1.5-litre engine with an electrical motor producing system outputs of 145kW of energy and 325Nm.
Relying on the variant, there’s a 18.3kWh and 26.6kWh battery pack. This enables for claimed all-electric ranges of 110km and 150km, respectively, beneath the extra lenient NEDC take a look at cycle.
There are two completely different all-electric powertrain choices within the European Seal U, with a single electrical motor producing 150kW paired with a 71.8kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, and a extra highly effective single electrical motor producing 160kW and paired with a bigger 87kWh LFP battery.
The previous has a claimed vary of 420km in response to WLTP testing, and the latter has a claimed vary of 500km.
The Seal U isn’t a model new mannequin, however fairly an replace of the Track Plus that debuted again in 2020.
It’s constructed on the corporate’s e-platform 3.0, which underpins fashions just like the Seal, Dolphin and Atto 3.
It measures in at 4785mm, 1890mm broad, and 1660mm tall with a 2765mm wheelbase, nearly similar in footprint to the Hyundai Santa Fe.
It slots in beneath the older Tang electrical SUV supplied in Europe, which measures 4870mm lengthy.
As beforehand reported, BYD is bringing 4 new electrical automobiles (EVs) to Australia within the subsequent 12 months.
These 4 EVs embrace the Dolphin hatchback, Seal sedan, beforehand confirmed “muscle ute”, in addition to the unspecified SUV.
-
Seal U -
Track Plus DM-i Champion Version
Deliveries of the Dolphin will start within the fourth quarter of this yr, and BYD’s native distributor EVDirect says the Seal will come quickly however hasn’t confirmed particular launch timing.
“We’re excited to be bringing the kinds of vehicles Australians need,” Luke Todd, CEO of BYD’s native distributor EVDirect, instructed CarExpert.
In response to the corporate’s Australian distributor, the plan is for BYD to attain 50,000 annual gross sales right here over the following few years, supported by an growth of its EV line-up – together with sports activities sedans and utes.
MORE: Is that this BYD’s subsequent electrical SUV for Australia?
