Review: BYD Seal 2024

It’s no secret that China’s BYD has quickly made a name for itself as it expands into Europe. First came the small Dolphin hatchback and the Atto 3 compact SUV, with both aiming to undercut rivals in a way Korean brands like Kia and Hyundai managed with great success a decade or so earlier.

Now though—and just as the Koreans have, too—BYD wants to head upmarket. It intends to do so with the Seal, an electric four-door sedan priced from around €45,000 in Europe and £45,000 in the UK.

It’s a sleek-looking thing—not at all as blubbery as you might expect—with a recognizable face and a general aesthetic that suggests BYD is ready for a battle with European brands in terms of design and quality, as well as price.

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The Seal range begins with a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive model producing a plentiful 312 horsepower. This is joined by the range-topping Seal Excellence AWD, which has two motors and a combined output of 530 horsepower. It’s properly quick, and BYD isn’t afraid to brag about it. The car’s 0-60 mph time is advertised with a “3.8” badge on the rear. At least it doesn’t say “Build Your Dreams” in chrome letters across the back anymore.

We’ve mentioned European rivals for the Seal, but really it’s the Tesla Model 3 to which this car poses the biggest threat. And speaking of feeling threatened, Tesla just dropped the price of its smallest car, bringing the Long Range All-Wheel Drive to a nice, round €1,000 below the equivalent BYD Seal, when previously it cost more. Nervous, Elon?

Taking on Tesla Model 3

As you may know by now, BYD started off as a producer of batteries for consumer electronics before moving into EVs. In 2010 I got to drive both the F3DM and e6 models. The F3DM was a plug-in hybrid which made headlines by beating the Chevrolet Volt to market, while the e6 found limited experimental use as a taxi in BYD’s base city, Shenzhen. My take at the time was that with both cars the underlying technology worked, even if all the pieces were not in place to create enticing products.

Fast forward to 2022 and the arrival of BYD’s eplatform 3.0. This was first used by the Dolphin, a small