BYD Sealion 7: the Chinese electric car giant takes on the Tesla Model Y
After surpassing Tesla's electric car sales for the first time in fourth quarter 2023the Chinese giant BYD is now seeking to strengthen its presence outside its national territory.
The brand is already present on the Old Continent and is starting to make a place for itself with some of its models, but BYD is still far from having succeeded in jeopardizing the hegemony of the Tesla Model Y, the best-selling car. in Europeall energies combined, and even in the world in 2023.
BYD certainly already offers an electric SUV comparable to the Tesla Model Y, the Seal U, but the latter is not the model of the brand which is most attractive in Europe, in particular because of charging powers that are too low and prices that are not so competitive. BYD will therefore try to correct the situation with its Sealion 7, a model already marketed in China and which is announcing its entry into the European market during the Paris Motor Show.
The Sealion 7 is lower and more slender than the Seal U, but also a little bulkier at 4.83 m in length. That's 8 cm longer than the Tesla Model Y, for example.
The style of the model, whose name means sea lion in English, is still inspired by the maritime world, with, among other things, crab claw-style front lights. The interior is made of curves and highlights the on-board technology with a large central screen. Unlike the Tesla Model Y, a second screen is present here to face the driver behind the wheel.
Price, power and autonomy, the Sealion 7 still keeps a few secrets
We will still have to wait a few days to know all the technical details and prices of the Sealion 7, which will be marketed in France from this month of October 2024. For the moment, we simply know that it is based on the e-Platform 3.0 platform. Evo, derived from the e-Platform 3.0 already used by Seal U, in particular. The Sealion 7 is equipped with LFP BYD Blade batteries integrated directly into the chassis (cell-to-bodyor CTB), for a maximum capacity of 91.3 kWh. Direct current charging can be done up to 230 kW, which is nothing exceptional, but remains higher than the 140 kW of the Seal U.
