Motoring: BYD launches new BEV at Fieldays

BYD Seal - the latest and most technologically advanced offering from Build Your Dreams. Photo / Dean Taylor

The BYD Atto 3 recently featured in Driven’s Top 7 Clean Cars, and the company was attracting a lot of interest at Fieldays.

But it was the launch of the new BYD Seal that stole the show.

BYD (Build Your Dreams) is a brand new to New Zealand. The Atto 3 and new Ocean range (the Dolphin and Seal were on display) are available with only pure electric power.

They have taken the New Zealand market by storm, thanks to some clever battery technology (BYD calls its proprietary system Blade), a lot of interesting features including a revolving touchscreen, and sharp pricing. It’s one of New Zealand’s top-10-selling cars for the year to date.

BYD Atto3 is one of the most popular BEV's. Photo / Dean Taylor

Size-wise, the Atto 3 is in between compact and medium, so while it might not be the first choice for larger families, it’s a perfectly practical day-to-day car for four, with a good range (you can choose from two battery sizes) and impressive storage.

It’s also the Driven BEV of the Year.

The Seal comes in Dynamic and Premium models with single-motor rear-wheel, and Performance, with two motors making 390kW of power and 670Nm of torque and AWD.

It has the same lithium iron phosphate (LFP) BYD Blade Battery as the Atto 3 and Dolphin.

The 61.4kWh unit in the Dynamic gives a range of 460km. The 82.5kWh battery in Premium and Performance gives 570km and 520km respectively.

Plenty of interest in the new EV offering from BYD - the Seal. Photo / Dean Taylor

Design and features were well received, and orders and deposits could be taken, although no prices have been released yet.

The Seal is expected to arrive in New Zealand in Q4 this year.

See more at bydauto.co.nz