2025 BYD Sealion 7 electric SUV spied in Australia
18/07/2024 00:11
BYD’s upcoming Tesla Model Y competitor has been photographed in Australia ahead of a possible introduction by the end of this year.
The 2025 BYD Sealion 7 electric SUV has been photographed in Australia – wearing mild disguise – ahead of a possible showroom arrival by the end of 2024, pending any delays.
The Sealion 7 is a mid-size electric SUV designed to rival the Tesla Model Y and Kia EV6/EV5 – not to be confused with the Sealion 6, a similarly-sized plug-in hybrid that launched in Australia in May and sold as the Seal U overseas.
BYD representatives have not been quoted as confirming the Sealion 7 for Australian showrooms – despite some reports suggesting it is locked in – but it is built in right-hand drive, and has been widely tipped to come here.
Images posted on social media – and reposted on the BYD Sealion 7 Australia Facebook group – show a right-hand-drive Sealion 7 on Victorian registration, with tape covering its body panels.
BYD’s Australian distributor EVDirect has confirmed plans to launch two more models locally this year after the Sealion 6 – one of which may be the Sealion 7.
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They are due to be followed by the plug-in hybrid Shark ute early next year.
The Sealion 7 – sold in China as the Sea Lion 07 – shares its underpinnings with BYD’s other electric cars, including the Seal sedan.
Measuring 4830mm long, 1925mm wide and 1620mm tall, on a 2930mm wheelbase, it is 80mm longer nose to tail, 3mm wider, 4mm lower and 40mm longer between the wheels than a Tesla Model Y.
In China, prices range from 189,800 to 239,800 yuan ($AU38,800 to $AU49,000) – all cheaper than the most affordable Model Y (249,900 yuan), which in Australia is priced from $55,900 plus on-road costs.
However, the Sealion 7 is likely to be more expensive in Australia – possibly in excess of $60,000 – to prevent treading on the toes of the Sealion 6 plug-in hybrid.
The cheapest Sealion 6 in Australia is priced from $48,990 plus on-road costs, while its equivalent model in China lists for 149,800 yuan ($AU30,700).
Powering the Sealion 7 is a choice of 71.8kWh or 80.6kWh battery packs, matched with single or dual electric motors developing up to 390kW for a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of 4.2 seconds.
The all-wheel-drive variant claims up of 550km of driving range in Chinese CLTC testing – which is more lenient than the WLTP standard common in Australia and Europe – or up to 610km of a long-range, rear-wheel-drive variant with 230kW.
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