In Europe at least, BYD – standing for Build Your Dreams – is fairly unknown, but on a global scale, this Chinese brand is a big player. Selling 1.86 million ‘New Energy Vehicles’, including hybrid and electric cars, which is more than even Tesla managed.
It launched in 2023 with the Atto 3 crossover, followed up by the Dolphin hatchback. You’ll notice that BYD has a ‘marine’ theme to it. Now it’s introducing a third model, the Seal, which arrives as a new halo model.
The Seal sits in what is known as the D-segment saloon market, and that means it goes straight into the firing line of the Tesla Model 3, one of the most successful EVs to date. It doesn’t help that Tesla has just updated its saloon too.
BYD started out in life as a battery manufacturer and is known for its technology as much as its cars – half of the world’s iPads are made by this Chinese giant – which is why the Seal features a battery that serves as part of the car’s structure and uses less precious resources than those in rival EVs.