BYD Seal sedan family grows with new plug-in hybrid

There’s another BYD Seal sedan coming, but unlike the one sold in Australia it’s packing plug-in hybrid power.

The BYD Seal 06 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sedan has been revealed in a Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology filing shared by CarNewsChina.

It’s actually the second Seal sedan with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, as the Seal family swells to four: the electric sedan sold here; the Seal U crossover that’s expected to come here in plug-in hybrid form; the new Seal 06; and the Seal DM-i PHEV sedan.

That’s resulted in a whole rookery of Seals, which sit under BYD’s Ocean series of vehicles which also includes the Dolphin. BYD also has its Dynasty series, which includes the Yuan Plus (known here as the Atto 3).

The new Seal 06 measures 4830mm long, 1875mm wide and 1495mm tall on a 2790mm wheelbase.

That makes it 30mm longer and 35mm taller than the electric Seal sedan sold here, albeit on a shorter 130mm wheelbase. It has an identical width.

It features a 74kW 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated with either 120kW or 160kW electric motors. This appears to be the same powertrain as the recently revealed Qin L, a longer-wheelbase sedan that sits in BYD’s Dynasty series lineup.

CarNewsChina reports it’ll offer a choice of 10.08kWh or 15.8kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Blade batteries, good for electric-only range of 60km and 90km, respectively, on the CLTC test cycle.

It also reports the Seal 06 will be positioned under the existing Seal sedans, and an electric version will likely be revealed later this year.

It’s unclear whether the Seal 06 will come here. BYD’s local distributor continues to expand its local lineup and is rolling out its first plug-in hybrid models here this year, but a plug-in hybrid mid-sized sedan doesn’t appear an obvious choice for the brand in Australia.

We’ve contacted BYD Australia to see if the new sedan is in the cards.

Unlike the other Seals, the front lighting assemblies aren’t in the shape of a lowercase E, with no thin daytime running light (DRL) descending from the headlight. Instead, there are slim clusters with subtler, integrated L-shaped DRLs.

The rear, however, bears a much stronger resemblance to the other Seal sedans.

There’s also a more conventional lower grille, without the frameless look of the Seal DM-i.

The Seal DM-i is the largest of the Seal sedans, boasting longer-range plug-in hybrid powertrains with more powerful petrol engines.

It was originally set to be called the Destroyer 07, before being christened with the Seal nameplate as BYD decided to turn this into a family of vehicles.

BYD is also rolling out a family of Sea Lion-badged vehicles, which includes the Sea Lion 07 electric SUV that will be produced in right-hand drive.

The Sea Lion family is understood to eventually comprise a range of SUVs, which makes it a bit confusing as to why the Song Plus Champion Edition is being called the Seal U in export markets.

BYD has a sprawling lineup of vehicles across its Ocean and Dynasty series, ranging from small SUVs like the Yuan Up all the way up to large, more premium models like the Tang crossover and Han sedan.

It also has separate brands: Fangchengbao, which debuted last year as an SUV brand; the similarly new and more high-end Yangwang; and Denza, which was established as a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz.