Leading Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD has revealed another new all-electric coupe crossover, the Sea Lion 07.
Revealed at the Guangzhou motor show, the Sea Lion 07 has a design heavily influenced by the Ocean X concept car.
Both front and rear lighting follow the same design language as the Seal sedan, with slim headlight clusters and a full-width rear light bar.
Up front, a scalloped bonnet sits above large vertical air intakes bracketing a low-sitting air intake, giving the front a similar look to the rear.
Five-spoke wheels sit under pronounced wheel arches bordered by black contrast trim.
The company has yet to reveal the Sea Lion 07’s interior.
The Sea Lion 07 measures 4830mm long, 1925mm wide, and 1620mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2930mm.
These dimensions make the crossover just 5mm wider but 80mm longer than the Tesla Model Y.
The Sea Lion 07 battery electric vehicle (BEV) is based on BYD’s existing e-platform 3.0 EV architecture, which already underpins the likes of the Atto 3 crossover, Dolphin hatchback, and Seal sedan.
-
BYD’s Ocean range
It incorporates Cell-to-Body (CTB) technology, which fully integrates BYD’s Blade battery into the vehicle structure for greater rigidity and safety.
CarNewsChina reports the Sea Lion 07 will be priced between 200,000 and 260,000 yuan (AU$43,630 – AU$55,360).
Undercutting the Tesla Model Y in the Chinese market, the Sea Lion 07 is competitively priced at 6000 yuan (AU$1300) cheaper than its rival.
BYD Sea Lion 07 EV unveiled in China.
The BYD Sea Lion 07 EV has been unveiled on the Guangzhou Auto Show in China. ‘EV’ is part of the car’s name. As you may have guessed, that means it is electric-only. BYD will not sell a PHEV version.
The mid-size Sea Lion 07 EV is part of… pic.twitter.com/5yFna5OFKi
— Tycho de Feijter (@TychodeFeijter) November 17, 2023
The Sea Lion 07 was designed by a team led by ex-Audi and Lamborghini designer Wolfgang Egger.
It will join the Seagull, Dolphin, and Seal models in the brand’s Ocean product range, but will also kickstart a Sea Lion product sub-range.
BYD has employed this strategy before, offering multiple Seal-badged models: the electric sedan that’s coming here, a separate plug-in hybrid sedan, and the Seal U crossover.
Last month, BYD broke its monthly sales record of over 300,000 units, and 137,000 of these models were attributed to the models in the Ocean sub-brand.
Locally, BYD is aiming for 50,000 annual sales in Australia.
While it’s unclear if the Sea Lion 07 will be available outside of the Chinese market, a spokesperson for local BYD distributor EVDirect previously said a mid-sized SUV is “on the product list for sale and delivery in 2024.”
However, this unspecified SUV could be one of several BYD has in its arsenal including the Song L (part of the Dynasty range) and Seal U – a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of which was recently spied in Australia.
BYD is heavily investing in its local expansion, bringing a total of four new EVs to Australia before the end of next year.
Local deliveries for the Dolphin hatchback, Australia’s cheapest EV, started last week and BYD is already aiming to deliver 1000 units by the end of the year.
-
Song L -
Seal U
Australians have a healthy appetite for BYD’s upcoming electric offerings, with over 1000 customers placing orders for the Seal sedan when order books opened last month.
In addition to the existing Atto 3 SUV, these include the Dolphin hatchback, Seal sedan, previously confirmed “muscle ute”, as well as the unspecified mid-size SUV.
