BYD Seagull revealed as Chinese brand’s smallest EV

UPDATED 05/04/2023 9:30am: Australian BYD importer EVDirect CEO Luke Todd has confirmed the BYD Seagull "is not on the current planned roadmap for Australia".

Todd also said the bigger BYD Dolphin hatchback would be released in June, followed by the BYD Seal sedan in the fourth quarter.

He stopped short of revealing any Australian pricing or spec details for either the Toyota Yaris-sized Dolphin or the Tesla Model 3-rivalling Seal, but said local interest in both new EVs as been “very high”.

Both the Dolphin and Seal are being put through a lengthy local evaluation program ahead of their respective introductions.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED 04/05/2023 6:00pm: BYD has revealed its smallest and cheapest electric vehicle to date, in the form of the 2023 BYD Seagull – a Kia Picanto-sized city-EV that will be priced from just ¥80,000 (the equivalent of $A17,140) in China, where it goes on sale later this year.

Full details will be announced on April 18 at the Shanghai auto show, but the BYD Seagull measures just 3780mm long, 1715mm wide and 1540mm wide, and will be available with either a 30kWh battery pack or a 38kWh unit, both of which are rumoured to incorporate sodium-ion chemistry.

They will be accompanied by the choice of either a 55kW or 75kW electric motor, the latter of which will supposedly propel the pint-size electric runabout up to 130km/h.

BYD says the most efficient powertrain combination is good for up to 405km of driving range in accordance with the China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), which is typically about 15-25 per cent more generous than the WLTP standard.

Even so, more than 300km range is plenty for a car that’s likely to spend most of its life running around urban environments, but it remains to be seen whether the budget-friendly EV makes it into Aussie showrooms.

carsales has reached out to BYD’s local distributor EVDirect for comment on the Seagull’s chances of Australian release, as well as updates on the bigger BYD Dolphin hatch and BYD Seal sedan, the former of which was meant to have launched late last year but was delayed because of re-engineering efforts to ensure it achieves a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating.

The Toyota Yaris-size Dolphin is in with a shout of becoming Australia’s cheapest EV, judging by overseas pricing, and could launch here around the $35,000 mark. However, recent reports suggest its starting price will be closer to the $40,000 mark.

That would still be enough to comfortably nab the title of Australia’s most affordable EV from the Toyota Corolla-size GWM Ora, which starts from $44,490 drive-away.

How long the Dolphin holds onto that crown, and what sort of warranty it’ll be backed by here, remains to be seen given EVDirect added up to $3630 to the asking price of its first full-time DYD model, the Atto3 small SUV, and cut its seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty down to six years/150,000km last year.

It’s understood EVDirect has abandoned its plan to apply Australian place names to its models – and to continue with its Atto nameplate rollout, in which case the Seagull may have been called the Atto1, the Dolphin the Atto2 and the Seal the Atto4 – and will now carryover adopt BYD’s own oceanic-themed model names.

carsales will update this article when EVDirect responds to our enquiries.

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