A right-hand drive version of the BYD Seal 06 has been spied in Sydney, following comments from the Chinese brand the plug-in hybrid mid-size sedan could work in our market.
The camouflaged right-hand drive Seal 06 DM-i was spotted by a member of the BYD Seal Australia Facebook group, who got a clear view of the exterior and the cabin, including its rotating 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen.
The model hasn’t been confirmed by BYD Australia, but is already produced in right-hand drive – like the vehicle spotted – and has been announced for the BYD lineup in the UK.
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While the vehicle spied locally was wearing a camouflage wrap, the Seal 06 DM-i has been on sale in China since May 2024.
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It was launched as a sedan only with the automaker’s fifth-generation hybrid powertrain, but earlier this year gained a station wagon variant called the Travel Edition as well as a pure electric version.
The plug-in hybrid sedan and wagon are part of a growing range of Seal-badged products in BYD’s lineup. These also include the smaller Seal 05 DM-i plug-in hybrid sedan and Seal 06 GT electric hatch, among others.
“The Seal 06, being a DM [PHEV] product, there’s a very strong appetite for plug-in hybrids in Australia, so something like that in our lineup would be fantastic,” BYD Australia product lead Sajid Hasan told CarExpert earlier this year.
It sits on a different platform compared to the Seal EV currently sold in Australia, with a 130mm shorter wheelbase but the same width and a 30mm longer body.
It’s priced from ¥99,800 ($A21,324) to ¥139,800 ($A29,863) across five model grades in China, with the electric version priced from ¥109,900 ($23,476).
This compares to a starting price of $46,990 before on-road costs for the cheapest of three Seal EV model grades in Australia, the Dynamic.
The Seal 06 DM-i sedan offers a claimed 2100km of combined range. It features a 74kW/126Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a 120kW/210Nm front-axle mounted electric motor.
Two ‘Blade’ battery packs are offered in China, with a 10.08kWh version offering 80km (CLTC) of electric-only driving and 2.9L/100km combined fuel economy.
A 15.87kWh version extends electric range to 120km, with 3.08L/100km combined economy and a 0.4 second improvement in the 0-100km/h sprint, down to 7.5 seconds.
Fuel consumption figures of 2.9L/100km, although on the more optimistic NEDC standard, give the entry-level Seal 06 DM-i a range of more than 2100km.
BYD Australia took over distribution of the brand here in July and told CarExpert it was looking at every vehicle from the automaker’s portfolio of brands – which extends to Denza, Fangchengbao and Yangwang – for local showrooms.
In July, the BYD Sealion 7 outsold the Tesla Model Y to become Australia’s best-selling EV for the month, with the brand also announcing a bigger battery to extend the range of its Sealion 6 PHEV SUV.
MORE: Explore the BYD showroom