In its mission to overcome the might of the established brands in Europe, Chinese battery giant BYD is bolstering its presence with arguably its most important EV to date: the Seal.
While the Atto 3 is designed to take on the likes of the Volkswagen ID 3, this saloon is ambitiously intended to rival the Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq 6 and BMW i4.
BYD is a huge company, with some 600,000 people across six continents working on not only cars but also batteries, solar panels, trains and buses. And it makes almost everything in-house, including its cobalt-free, lithium-iron-phosphate Blade battery.
The Seal is by far the best-looking of the Euro-focused BYDs so far, to these eyes at least. It's more into the maritime theme than the Dolphin hatchback, with a few fin and gill details, which are subtle enough.
The Seal is based on the same e-Platform 3.0 as the Atto 3 and Dolphin, but it gets a bigger (82.5kWh) battery and the single-motor version is rear-wheel drive, rather than front-wheel drive.
That has 308bhp and should get 354 miles on a single charge, while the dual-motor, four-wheel-drive version packs a very serious 523bhp. Yet its official range drops only 31 miles to a still-competitive 323. Both models can charge at 150kW.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Poster car that went from rusty to trusty
One evening, two years ago, George Pappas was being driven down his local high street by a mate and mulling over whether to replace his Mk4 Golf diesel, a recent purchase that was boring him to death, when his girlfriend, also in the car, spotted an old BMW 3 Series at the side of the road with a 'for sale' sign in the window.
THE SEVEN-SEATER THAT VOLVO DARE NOT KILL OFF
The current-gen XC90 has been on sale since 2015 for good reason
GENESIS ELECTRIFIED G80
Where the story begins, in the Hyundai premium marque’s luxury saloon
LEXUSLBX
Can you shrink premium quality to fit an SUV this small? We now know
Rolls boss ready to 'define the next chapter'
Nine months into the job, Rolls-Royce CEO and car guy Chris Brownridge tells STEVE CROPLEY what he's learned and where the firm's heading
Once more, with feeling
AC Cars' recreation of the classic MkII Cobra is at first glance a faithful facsimile of a 1960s performance benchmark. SIMON HUCKNALL drives it
MERCEDES-BENZ CLE
Does a PHEV set-up work in a coupé that exudes such old-school vibes?
ANALOGUE SUPERSPORT
Lotus Elise specialist uprates 1990s icon with an eye on track days
ALPINE A290
The hot hatch is alive and well, and living in France. On both road and track, there's much to savour`
UK HANGS ON TO OLD CARS
Average car age climbs as high prices dampen demand for new models
