Refreshed BYD Seal goes on sale with lower prices
BYD Seal launched in July last year and it was off to a good start until Tesla decided to start playing with prices at the start of this year. The fallout from the unfolding price tussles between the EV manufacturers is forcing many companies to not only cut prices but to look for other incentives to improve sales numbers.
BYD had to cut prices on its cars but it wasn’t enough, despite all the effort the Seal has been selling an average of 6,000 units every month since it launched - not an impressive number when Han and Tang's sales are more than double that figure. BYD decided that a refresh for the Seal EV may do the trick.
The improved BYD Seal is called Champion Edition, it’s a name BYD uses for all improved or refreshed models. The starting price is around $3,230 (RMB 23,000) lower than the launch price from 2022, there are five versions available, this table explains the price differences between this and last year’s models:
| BYD Seal model | 2022 Price | 2023 Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 550 km Standard | $30,700 | $27,400 | -$3,300 |
| 550 km Luxury Edition | $32,500 | $29,300 | -$3,200 |
| 700 km Luxury Edition | N/A | $32,200 | N/A |
| 700 km Performance Edition | $37,900 | $34,600 | -$3,300 |
| 650 km AWD Performance Edition | $41,800 | $40,400 | -$1,400 |
The Champion Edition adds leather seats with a leather steering wheel, rear privacy windows, and cup holders in the armrest in the base 550 km version. The 700 km model and the AWD Performance model add optional auto-dimming glass roof, and iTAC silent tires (China exclusive) on 19-inch rims plus the Performance version interior is finished in suede.
Visually the only change is represented only by the new wheels, the Seal Champion Edition is available in four main colors: North Ice Blue, Aurora White, Dark Sky Black, and Atlantis Gray, with poetically named Wind Curly Grass Green and Rosemary Gray as options.
The previous 700 km version is now called 700 Performance Edition, it packs a 230 kW motor with 360 Nm of torque. The 700 Luxury Edition has a 170 kW electric motor with 330 Nm and both use the 82.5 kWh battery pack. The 550 km versions have the smaller 61.4 kWh battery. The AWD Performance Edition comes with two electric motors with a total output of 530 hp and a 0-100 km/h sprint taking a blistering 3.8 seconds.
Refreshing a car that’s been on the market for less than a year is a sign of struggle, BYD may be the biggest EV company in China but not all models sell equally well. The Seal was meant to compete with Tesla Model 3 and it is simply not happening, for whatever reason customers aren’t that interested in this model. Let’s see if this update changes its fortunes.
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