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Paris Motor Show 2024: BYD follows up with the Sealion 7 crossover SUV

The portfolio of the Chinese giant continues to grow in this country: With the Sealion, designed by chief designer Wolfgang Egger, the brand emphasizes its ambitions in the globally trending mid-size E-SUV segment. It is expected to offer plenty of space and, with a 91 kWh battery, also range, while also reaching speeds of up to 215 km/h. Just not for too long.

Dynamic Ocean Sweeper: The Sealion is said to sprint to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. | Photo: BYD
Dynamic Ocean Sweeper: The Sealion is said to sprint to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. | Photo: BYD
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Johannes Reichel

The Chinese automobile manufacturer and battery giant BYD continues to expand and is rounding off its portfolio at the Paris Auto Show with a mid-size electric SUV, designed by former Seat, Alfa, and Audi chief designer Wolfgang Egger and reminiscent of models from DS. With a 91.3 kWh LFP battery of the so-called Blade generation in the particularly integrated, high-strength, and very flat "Cell-to-Body" construction, the 4.83-meter-long, likely just over 1.60-meter high, and well 1.9-meter wide model is expected to offer good range. In the upper mid-range, it competes with the successful Model Y from Tesla.

The trunk is supposed to be large for travel needs with 500 liters plus a 58-liter frunk, as is the space offering, which is said to be very generous thanks to the flat battery and despite the low silhouette. In China, there are also batteries with 72 and 81 kWh as well as three drives in the portfolio, including rear-wheel drives with 170 and 230 kW and an all-wheel drive with 160 plus 230 kW. Compared to the "related" Seal, which is three centimeters shorter, the Sealion is based on the company's further developed E-platform called 3.0 Evo.

In the all-wheel-drive version advertised by us, the "Sea Mammal" claims a sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, with an astonishing top speed of 215 km/h, for which the range of 610 kilometers (according to China Standard CLTC) seems utopian. The vehicle is charged in a contemporary manner from 10-80 percent in 25 minutes. Charging performances of up to 230 kW are expected, a previous downside of Chinese electric cars, although the Sealion is based on a 400-volt platform. The standard equipment reportedly includes a heat pump and vegan leather. In the interior, the brand's usual central and rotatable touchscreen with a 15.6-inch diagonal dominates, complemented by the digital central screen in front of the steering wheel. As customary, there are physical buttons for important controls and a head-up display. The Sealion 7 is already listed on the German BYD website, although it is not yet available for order, which is expected to be possible in October. And by the end of the year, the first Sealions should be rolling out to customers.

Translated automatically from German.
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