The electric car market in China is beginning to feel the competition, where BYD has just announced a renewal of the Seal, which will feature small improvements and, most notably, a lower starting price. A few days ago, we discussed how some brands were beginning to feel the pressure from the immense competition in China’s automobile market, where names like Tesla had to reduce their production due to factors such as the growing competition from local groups.
Now, BYD has confirmed this trend and, after announcing that it expects to sell 4.2 million cars this year, 40% more than the previous year, has started to take steps to achieve this, and what better way than to renew proposals and lower prices.
Price Reduction of the BYD Seal
The Seal is one of BYD’s most popular models. A mid-size sedan that in China is available in multiple versions, including a plug-in hybrid.
The pure electric also has different mechanical possibilities, and while in Europe it is limited to two engines and one battery, there it has two battery options: a basic one of 61.4 kWh and 550 km of CLTC autonomy, and the second, the one we have in our market, with 82.5 kWh.
In the case of the entry variant, BYD has confirmed a 5.2% drop in its price, which will start at a more than attractive 179,800 yuan, which at the exchange rate is 23,055 euros. For its part, the most expensive variant reaches 249,800 yuan, or 32,029 euros.
It remains to be seen if BYD applies this discount also in Europe. Here the rates are considerably higher, and for example, the version with one engine and an 81.5 kWh battery, with 570 km of WLTP autonomy, starts at 46,990 euros, while the version with two engines and 530 CV of power, with 520 km of WLTP autonomy, does so at 48,990 euros.
If the discount received in China were to be applied, it would mean lowering to 44,500 euros for the one-engine version, and 46,400 euros for the all-wheel-drive version.