BYD Sealion 8 teased: seven-seat plug in hybrid due to arrive this year
BYD will launch a new seven-seat PHEV over the coming months, and it could have some impressive figures...
Dolphin, Seal, Sealion… it seems that BYD has enough aquatic creatures to make its own aquarium at this point, and there’ll soon be another one to add to the tank, in the form of the new BYD Sealion 8.
In a post on social media earlier today (1 May), BYD teased its new model hidden under a sheet, with no details except for the fact that it will be a seven-seat plug-in hybrid. While the company hasn’t confirmed it’ll specifically be the Sealion 8, this model fits the brief and was recently launched in Australia – another right-hand-drive market.
No UK-specific details have been revealed yet, but in Australia, the Sealion 8 is available with both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. Front-wheel-drive variants combine a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a 19kWh battery – the same set-up as in Comfort versions of the BYD Seal U. In the Sealion 8, it pumps out 275bhp and can manage a 0-62mph sprint in 8.6sec. That’s slightly punchier than a Hyundai Santa Fe.
Using that 19kWh battery, the Sealion 8 can officially travel for 64 miles on electric power alone. For reference, the Santa Fe PHEV has an official figure of 33 miles, while the MG S9 can travel for 62 miles on petrol-free power. It’s worth noting, though, that the figures for the Sealion 8 are based on the NEDC test cycle, which tends to be more generous than the WLTP tests generally used here in Europe.
Four-wheel-drive models come with a much larger 35.6kWh battery and produce a hefty 481bhp, with 0-62mph taking just 4.9sec. That makes the Sealion 8 even speedier than the Chery Tiggo 9, and it could be similarly efficient to that car too, with an official 94-mile range (NEDC).
Of course, the new model is still under wraps here in the UK, but under the sheet, it gets a boxy silhouette similar to that of the Sealion 8 on sale in other markets.
Likewise, we haven’t seen inside the new model yet, but international specifications of the Sealion 8 receive a large 15.6in central infotainment touchscreen alongside a 10.25in digital instrument display behind the wheel – the same layout as in the all-electric Sealion 7. Range-topping models get a head-up display.
With the third row of seats down, the Sealion 8 has a boot capacity of 960 litres, which is pretty huge. Indeed, it’s more than what the Tiggo 9 and Santa Fe have on offer.
More details about BYD’s new seven-seat PHEV will be revealed in the coming weeks. Prices are yet to be announced, but we expect it’ll be keenly priced compared with rivals, at around £40,000. That’s pricier than the MG S9, but cheaper than a Santa Fe and in the ballpark of a Tiggo 9.
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