As promised, BYD is quickly expanding its lineup of Sealion-badged vehicles, with the latest being an Atto 3-sized electric SUV.
In China, the BYD brand offers a range of vehicles under the Dynasty series, and a similarly sprawling lineup of Ocean vehicles. In Australia, we get a mix of Ocean (Seal, Dolphin etc.) and Dynasty (Atto 3) vehicles.
The Sealion 05 EV, as it’ll be known in China, has been revealed in a Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) filing shared by Car News China.
It follows the launch earlier this year of the Sealion 05 DM-i plug-in hybrid (PHEV), which features significantly different styling; BYD has done the same thing with EV and PHEV models under the Seal banner.
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The electric SUV measures 4520mm long, 1860mm wide and 1630mm tall on a 2720mm wheelbase. That makes it 65mm longer, 15mm narrower and 15mm taller than an Atto 3 on an identical wheelbase.
Kerb weight ranges from 1670kg to 1780kg.
The filing confirms the Sealion 05 EV, as expected of a BYD, uses a ‘Blade’ lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. However, it doesn’t specify the capacity.
There’s a choice of two electric motors, however – one with 140kW of power, the other with 160kW.
The Sealion 05 EV is recognisably an ‘Ocean’ BYD, with headlights similar to other Seal and Sealion models and tail lights like those on the Dolphin.
The straighter side creases and smooth front, bereft of an upper grille, give it a different look from the Sealion 05 DM-i that also measures 190mm longer and 20mm wider on an 8mm shorter wheelbase.
The Sealion 05 DM-i offers a choice of 12.9kWh and 18.3kWh batteries, mated with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, with WLTC range of between 64km and 93km.
Both models sit within a growing range of Sealion vehicles, which includes the Sealion 6 PHEV sold here in Australia (known in other markets as the Seal U) and the Sealion 7, an electric Tesla Model Y rival due here in February 2025.
It’s unclear if BYD will bring the Sealion 05 to Australia, where it already has a pair of mid-sized SUVs with another on the way.
Sealion 05 DM-i
In China, the brand offers small, medium and large sedans and SUVs, as well as small and mid-sized hatchbacks plus a range of people movers.
It recently moved to trademark the Atto 3 Up nameplate, suggesting it could bring the Yuan Up small electric SUV to Australia as a new entry-level SUV.
“The new product pipeline is super exciting. We’re exploring the entire BYD range and if the demand is here for a specific model or segment, the vehicle will be brought in,” said a BYD Australia spokesperson last week.
The head of BYD’s local distributor, EVDirect, has previously said the brand will focus on utes and SUVs Down Under.
Sealion 6
“The opportunity for us is that there’s so much product to choose from. My preference is ute and SUV, that’s where the big segments are in Australia,” David Smitherman told CarExpert in November.
“And so our focus is really on that. We’ve got the Shark 6 here, the Sealion 7 will be launched in February, that’s our next vehicle.
“After that, you’ll see a continual rollout of products.”
The company aims to double last year’s sales tally this year, and continue on that growth trajectory.
Sealion 7
“Last year we sold 12,500 vehicles and I’m very happy to go on record that year after year we’re looking to double those sales, so long as we can get the vehicles in market at the right time,” said Mr Smitherman in October.
“So our expectations will be for next year to double sales again and to aggressively grow our market share as we bring new models on.”
If BYD doubles its sales target in 2024 and subsequent years, it would sell 50,000 vehicles in 2025, and 100,000 vehicles in 2026 – the latter a figure that was achieved last year by only Toyota and Mazda.
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MORE: BYD prioritising SUVs and utes in Australia
