A single-motor variant was also spied in NSW on the weekend, as electric sedan’s Australian launch draws near
An undisguised, fully-badged BYD Seal electric sedan wearing Chinese temporary plates has been spotted at a layover on the Pacific Motorway between Sydney and Newcastle on the weekend, as the Australian release of the upcoming Tesla Model 3 rival draws ever nearer.
Pictures of the spied development vehicle, finished in fetching baby blue paint like the camouflaged BYD Seal spotted in Sydney in January and fitted with all of its production-spec badges including separate ‘AWD’ and ‘3.8S’ lettering, were posted to a local Tesla owners Facebook group yesterday and promptly stirred up a commotion in the comments section.
In the midst of the debate around whether the BYD Seal will be a genuine Tesla competitor, another user posted an image of a white example they spotted in Macquarie on Sunday minus – the rear AWD badging.
The separate sightings reiterate the fact BYD is testing Seal development vehicles on Aussie soil and that local evaluation of the all-new electric sedan is ongoing despite the model being due on sale next month, while the two different variants provide an insight into the EV’s local model range.
Put simply, BYD Australia’s Seal line-up will consist of at least two powertrain options including single-motor and dual-motor set-ups, the latter of which outputs 390kW, is powered by an 82.5kWh battery pack and accelerates to 100km/h in a claimed 3.8 seconds – hence the badging on our spied example.
The middling long-range variant pairs the same battery with a single 230kW motor, whereas the entry-level Seal features a 150kW motor and a 61.4kWh battery.
BYD Australia CEO Luke Todd confirmed last month that the Seal’s local launch was being brought forward to August, but stopped short of revealing any market-specific details.
“Pricing will be extremely competitive… we want to make sure it’s accessible for as many Australians as possible,” he said.
We wouldn’t be surprised if all three powertrains were made available Down Under in an effort to rattle the cages of MG and GWM at the budget end of the EV market while also taking the performance EV fight to Tesla, Polestar and Kia.
A sub-4.0sec 0-100km/h time is bordering on supercar-quick and will undoubtedly catch many established performance cars by surprise out on the road, but unlike other EVs that hide or at least downplay their standing-start performance credentials, it seems the flagship Seal will literally brandish its 0-100km/h time for the world to see.
Image source: Tesla Model 3 & Y Australia Facebook group
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Keyword: Undisguised 390kW BYD Seal flagship spotted brandishing its 3.8sec 0-100km/h pace