Electric vehicle specialist BYD introduced the Seal at national Fieldays earlier this year and in the short space of time between then and now BYD New Zealand has confirmed pricing and arrival time for what is arguably, its sexiest car yet.
Scheduled to arrive in early 2024 starting from only $62,990 + ORC, Seal is a medium-sized high-performance EV Coupe which expands the current New Zealand line up to three models and is the first of five new models arriving here next year.
“We are fizzing about the imminent arrival of the BYD Seal.” Says Warren Willmot, BYD Auto NZ’s General Manager. “The interest and demand for the Seal since it’s public reveal at Fieldays earlier this year has been huge, and to be able to finally announce competitive pricing and specifications for NZ is exciting.”
The BYD Seal already boasts international awards such as the coveted iF design award for 2023, and is the first BYD incorporate Cell-to-Body (CTB) technology.
CTB fully integrates the BYD Blade Battery into the entire vehicle structure and enhances the vehicle’s safety along with the advanced architecture of BYD's latest EV platform 3.0, imporving performance efficiency and aesthetics.
BYD NZ will launch the Seal with three model choices – Dynamic, Premium and the impressive range topper, the Performance AWD model.
The single motor rear wheel drive Dynamic model delivers 150 kW of power and up to 310 Nm of torque. This helps accelerate the car from 0-100 km/h in a respectable 7.5 seconds. This is paired with BYD’s 61.44 kWh blade battery pack that can offer up to 460 km of WLTP range. When it comes to charging the battery, it can be fast charged at up to 110 kW.
The Premium model’s battery boasts up to 82.56 kWh, delivering up to 570 km of WLTP range. The fast-charging speeds also ramp up to 150 kW for DC charging. Other upgrades include a new motor with 230 kW of power and 360 Nm of torque. This shaves the zero to 100 km/h acceleration time down to 5.9 seconds. On the exterior, the wheels also get an upgrade and are now 19-inch premium alloys.
Finally, the top-spec Performance AWD model adds an all-wheel-drive powertrain that delivers up to 390 kW and 670 Nm of torque. This helps this variant sprint from 0-100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds.
On the battery front, the Performance shares the same battery pack as the Premium vehicle. This now offers up to 520 km of WLTP range.
Other special features include a heads-up-display, suspension upgrades to include Frequency Selective Dampening (FSD) as well as features to improve driving dynamics with Intelligence Torque Adaption Control (ITAC).
Pricing starts at $62,990 + ORC for the Dynamic, $72,990 + ORC for the Premium and $83,990 + ORC for the Performance model. Test drive experiences start before the end of December at BYD dealerships around the country.
