South Africa can look forward to a new electric sedan in the near future, courtesy of Chinese carmaker Build Your Dreams (BYD).
The new model, known as the Seal, made its public debut at the Festival of Motoring this weekend, where a company representative confirmed that it will be launched locally in October.
While the company hasn’t provided any solid details on pricing, the Seal will likely be the most affordable electric sedan once it reaches domestic roads.
Performance
The Seal will be BYD’s third vehicle in South Africa, joining the ranks alongside the Atto 3 and the Dolphin.
It continues the marine life naming convention seen by many of BYD’s other international products like the Seagull or the upcoming Shark, which helps to give a sense of each model’s size in relation to one another.
The Seal is classified as a midsize sedan, clocking in at 4,800mm in length, 1,875mm in width, and 1,460mm in height, making it comparable to something like a BMW 3 Series.
In global markets, the electric sedan is sold in two specifications – Premium and Performance – with varying outputs.
The base Premium features a rear-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor with 230kW and 360Nm, letting it race from 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds.
Upgrading to the Performance sees an e-motor situated over each axle, giving it all-wheel drive.
The front motor produces 160kW and 310Nm while the rear motor generates its own 230kW and 360Nm, and these two units combine to give the flagship Seal an output of 390kW and 670Nm.
As a result, the Performance can rocket to 100km/h in a blistering 3.8 seconds.
Regardless of which option you go for, the BYD comes with regenerative brakes and a sizeable 82.56kWh battery, which gives the Premium a maximum driving range of 650km.
The Performance’s extra power and heft does come at the cost of range, however, as it has a reduced driving allowance of 580km.
In terms of charging, the Chinese car supports a standard 11kW AC wall outlet which takes about seven and a half hours to fully top up.
It can also use a DC fast charger with a capacity of up to 150kW, which can recharge the cell to 80% in as little as 34 minutes.
Something of particular interest to South Africa is that the Seal supports V2L (Vehicle to Load) bi-directional charging, meaning the car’s battery can be used to power other objects in the event of load-shedding.
Equipment
The BYD display at the Festival of Motoring included a breakdown of the Seal’s elaborate equipment sheet.
For the exterior, you can expect 19-inch alloy wheels, a silver-plated glass sunroof with a sunshade, LED headlights with high-beam assist, rain-sensing wipers, auto-folding side mirrors, flush door handles, and soundproof double-glazed glass for the windshield.
There are also five colours to choose from including Black, White, Blue, Atlantis Gray, and Indigo Grey.
In terms of features, there’s keyless entry and start, a multifunction leather steering wheel, leather upholstery, electronically-adjustable front seats with lumbar support, memory settings, heating and ventilation; a 10.25-inch digital driver display, a rotating 15.6-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 12-speaker stereo, satellite navigation, two wireless chargers, and dual-zone climate control.
The Chinese model additionally comes with a suite of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), comprising two front parking sensors, four rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, traction control, hill assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, predictive collision warning, traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed limiter, front and rear cross-traffic alert, and blind-spot monitoring with door opening warnings.
The only equipment difference between the Premium and Performance is that the latter comes with a heads-up display, meaning that the price difference will be almost entirely based on the powertrains.
Price
At present, the only players in the electric sedan segment in South Africa are BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
The most affordable battery-electric sedan in the country is therefore the Mercedes-Benz EQE with a minimum asking price of R1,727,951.
BYD previously set the benchmark for affordability in the crossover and hatchback categories with the Atto 3 and Dolphin, respectively, and it is looking to continue this trend with the upcoming sedan.
In China, the Seal currently sells for around 180,000 yuan, equating to roughly R453,000 at current exchange rates.
It’s highly unlikely that it will be this cheap in South Africa given the substantial tariffs government imposes on imported vehicles. However, even at double this price, it would still undercut the EQE by approximately R800,000.
A BYD representative confided in TopAuto that the automaker is targeting a price point of around seven figures. They did give us a number, but asked that it be kept off record.
Regardless of where it ends up landing in the market, it’s all but certain that the Seal will be the most attainable electric sedan in South Africa once it arrives in local showrooms.
BYD Seal at the 2024 Festival of Motoring
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