BYD Seal U SUV 2024 Will Break Tesla's Dominance in Europe
The strategy to appear at GIMS 2024 is part of BYD's plan to offer the latest variant of Seal for the European market. There, Seal U will fight to win the hearts of fans, most of whom are already fanatical about brands from the Blue Continent.
Therefore, the Seal SUV has to face competition from the Peugeot 3008 or Skoda Karoq, which are quite identical in dimensions. The SUV version of the Seal is actually sold in its home country, China, under the name BYD Song, only the appearance is slightly different from the Seal U.
Glancing at the specifications for the 2024 BYD Seal U SUV
Because it still carries the Seal name, we can't help but compare it a little with the Seal sedan. In terms of design, the fascia of the Seal SUV is quite different from the four-door sedan version. Just look at how the front bumper design is accented with horizontal lines, different from the Seal sedan where the accents are only on the left and right sides of the bumper.
Then the shape of the Seal SUV's headlights is also not as sharp as the sedan version, although the LED DRL design used remains the same. Moving on to the side, there is also a very different difference between the sedan and the SUV version, because BYD has made bolder design lines on the Seal U, including 19 inch alloy wheels which are also made to look more sturdy.
This sturdy design is also continued on the curve of the rear body of the Seal U, because here there are quite a lot of firm curves made by BYD. This car is also much larger than the sedan version, because it is 4,775 mm long, 1,890 mm wide, with a body height of 1,670 mm.
When compared with cars that are quite popular in Indonesia, the Seal U is slightly smaller than the Toyota Fortuner (Specifications | News) GR Sport. For the European market, this car will be available in two versions, namely pure electric battery powered (BEV), and the Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) type.
Both use e-Platform 3.0 which is similar to the Seal sedan, and have the capability for fast-charging with a power of 150 kW.
The BEV version uses a Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LFP) BYD Blade Battery with a capacity of 71 kWh with a cruising range of 598 kilometers (km), and another variant uses an 87 kWh battery with a cruising range of 696 km using the CLTC method.
The electric motor itself also comes in two models, the first is capable of producing a peak power of 202 PS, the other is 216 PS. Meanwhile, the BYD Seal U PHEV 2024 still uses a 1,500 cc petrol engine with 105 PS power.
However, this machine is combined with a battery with a capacity of 18.3 kWh and an electric motor with a maximum power of 194 PS. In full electric mode, the battery can make this car travel 109 km at low to medium speeds without needing support from the petrol engine.
BYD will reportedly release the price of the 2024 BYD Seal U SUV for the European market at a surprising price. Competing with the Tesla Model Y, the SUV version of the Seal is estimated to have a price tag in the range of IDR 800-850 million for the European market.
This step will certainly be the latest surprise from BYD after previously presenting Dolphin and Atto 3 for the same regional market, also at prices below its competitors.
