BYD to double model line-up in Australia by end of this year

Chinese car giant BYD has doubled its new-model launch plans for Australia in 2024 – led by the BYD Seal U plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV due by the middle of this year, pending any delays.

BYD’s Australian distributor EVDirect said in a media statement today it plans to launch four new models in Australia this year – up from previously announced plans for two.

Only two of the vehicles have been named – a mid-size SUV now confirmed to be the Seal U, and a dual-cab ute – but the identity of the other two models is unclear.

Options range from the budget-priced Yuan Up small electric SUV unveiled in China earlier this month, to the Sea Lion 07 electric mid-size SUV shown in China, and the Yangwang U8 luxury off-road SUV.

First to launch is planned to be the BYD Seal U, a long-range plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV designed to rival the Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander, due in the second quarter of the year (April to June).

The Chinese car maker has previously announced plans to introduce a mid-size SUV this year, and prototypes – which were clearly Seal Us – seen testing in Australia are of the model that will be introduced here.

However it refused to acknowledge the prototypes were Seal Us – even though they were undisguised – nor explicitly confirm the name of the vehicle it planned to launch.

An electric version of the Seal U is available in Europe, but only the 'DM-i' plug-in hybrid version – which is capable of 150km of electric-only driving range before the 1.5-litre petrol engine kicks in – will be manufactured in right-hand drive.

The Seal U is due to be followed by an unnamed dual-cab ute, previously confirmed to open for orders in the first half of 2024, ahead of deliveries by the end of the year.

A plug-in hybrid version of the ute – seen testing extensively in China, and expected to combine a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with an electric motor and battery for up to 1000km or more of total driving range – is due first, ahead of an solely-electric version at a later date.

It is unclear what the other two models due in BYD showrooms this year will be.

Likely options include the Yuan Up small electric SUV recently unveiled in China, the Sea Lion 07 mid-size electric SUV – which would be sold in place of a left-hand-drive electric Seal U – or Yangwang U8 luxury four-wheel-drive SUV.

Less likely is the city-sized Seagull electric car, which BYD executives have expressed less interest in as it may not earn a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

"The Dolphin, Seal and Atto 3 will be complemented by the hotly anticipated Seal U in [the second quarter] and a further three product launches before the end of 2024," new EVDirect CEO David Smitherman said in a media statement.

BYD executives have previously declared the company wants to be a Top Five selling brand by 2025 – next year – and end Toyota's 21-year streak as Number One by 2030.