BYD Seal Unveiled in Singapore!

Jek Ray

30/09/2023

There’s a new contender in the compact electric saloon class. And this latest entrant comes from the best selling EV manufacturer (of the first five months of 2023 at least) in Singapore.

The marque is none other than Chinese automaker BYD, and the contender, seemingly aimed at offerings from America and Sweden, is its Seal. This launch event, held at Changi Exhibition Centre, marks the car’s official debut locally, after an initial preview back at the Singapore Motorshow in January.

This is BYD’s first saloon offering locally, and joins its ATTO 3 and DOLPHIN as models built on its e-Platform 3.0 architecture. But unlike its SUV and hatchback cousins, the Seal wasn’t developed as a mere commuter car. It was built to show the world that BYD (and electric cars in general) could build fun-to-drive cars as well.

One key improvement made in the Seal is its CTB technology. Short for Cell to Body, it allows the battery pack to be better integrated into the chassis of the vehicle. The floor of the body now serves as the top of the pack, creating optimal distribution of cells, as well as increases in structural rigidity.

The Seal is also the first BYD offering sold locally to not have a front-wheel drive variant. Three models are available at launch, with the range starting from the rear-wheel driven Seal Dynamic and Seal Premium models, and ending with the range-topping BYD Seal Performance. Refer to the table below for the specifications of the three cars:

Dynamic	Premium	Performance
RWD	RWD	AWD
61.4 kWh Battery	82.6 kWh Battery	82.6 kWh Battery
6.5 km/kWh	6 km/kWh	5.5 km/kWh
201 bhp	308 bhp	523 bhp

On the inside, the Seal is definitely aimed at a more upmarket audience, as it does away with the complex styling found in the ATTO 3 and the DOLPHIN. You’ll find the same three-spoke steering wheel as in the other BYD cars.

The car still has a rotating infotainment screen, but now gains a rectangular digital driver’s display that significantly dwarfs the units fitted to its stablemates. The Dynamic comes with vegan leather, whilst its Premium and Performance cousins will be trimmed with genuine leather.

All Seal models qualify for VES A1, so you’d still qualify for a S$40,000 reduction even after revised rebate structure that’d take effect from 1st January 2024 onwards. Prices start at $238,888, $248,888 and $280,888, for the rear-wheel driven Dynamic and Premium, and the all-wheel driven Performance, respectively.