The Australian testing and engineering validation program for the incoming all-new 2024 BYD Seal U battery-electric and plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV is racking up the miles along the eastern seaboard, with a carsales reader spying the crucial new model under camouflage in Brisbane last Friday.
Set to undercut the top-selling Tesla Model Y in Australia’s most popular SUV market segment when it launches next year, the BYD Seal U engineering development car was seen recharging at the Montague Markets shopping centre in Brisbane’s West End on Friday, October 20.
The BYD engineers were busy logging data on the BYD Seal while it was hooked up to the Evie charging station in the underground car park.
Seal U development cars have been spied in a few different Aussie locations in recent weeks, including Sydney, after the European export model premiered at the IAA Mobility show in Munich early in September.
In China, the Seal U is known as the Song Plus Champion and is offered in both EV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) guise.
The local engineering cars have all carried Victorian number plates and the particular model shown here looks to be the PHEV, with a slatted (rather than closed) grille and separate flaps on the left and right rear flanks – one for battery recharging and the other presumably for the fuel filler.
Despite the heavy camouflage, there’s no mistaking it for the high-riding version of the BYD Seal sedan, the latter being a Tesla Model 3 rival in the same way the Seal U EV will compete against the Model Y.
The Seal and Seal U are underpinned by the same ‘e-platform 3.0’ architecture and in Euro-spec SUV form measures 4785mm long, 1890mmm wide and 1660mm tall, riding on a 2765mm wheelbase. That makes the Seal U marginally longer and taller than the Tesla Model Y, but not quite as wide.
The full-electric Seal U was shown in Europe with a 71.8kW Blade battery good for up to 420km of range, as well as a bigger 87kWh unit capable of up to 500km.
Both versions use a single electric motor producing 168kW of power.
In China, the PHEV uses a 1.5-litre petrol-electric powertrain producing 145kW/325Nm, drawing from either an 18kWh or 27kWh battery pack to offer a range of up to 110km and 150km respectively.
The Seal sedan was officially launched in Australia last week, priced from $49,888 plus on-road costs, so expect the Seal U to carry a premium.
BYD Australia has made no secret of its plans to evaluate all new models on local soil, with the next model we’re likely to see rocking pre-production camouflage being the eagerly anticipated electrified ute.
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