[GoBabyGo]

Hi, this is so good to see that BYD is launching global products in Indian market. Seal is an outstanding product, even if we compare it with anything best available world over under 1 Cr. price, however, how BYD will be able to sell it in good number with less than 25 dealers across India.

Seal being a sedan may not get buyers in good numbers (15 to 20 unit retail sales a month with their current dealer network), but it's time BYD to expend their sales network to cover maximum cities.

A good international quality product like Seal, which is likely to be on sale at a competitive price, should not die prematurely just because company do not have pan India presence.

[satish.gawai]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Actually company car lease presently works better for salaried individuals for tax rather than even Home Loan.

That is true but all companies are not providing this facility. In my case, I am looking for a lease option but my employer is saying NO. Is it possible to get the lease to an individual without involving the employer?

[prajwalmr62]

Originally Posted by satish.gawai

That is true but all companies are not providing this facility. In my case, I am looking for a lease option but my employer is saying NO. Is it possible to get the lease to an individual without involving the employer?

Then what is the point of leasing? You will not get tax benefits since it is not deducted before salary. You can save by going with traditional car loan.

[Cresterk]

Happy that they are bringing in the single motor versions as well. 200-300 horsepower is more than enough to have plenty of fun on our roads. Hope this means they can price it reasonably too.

The 500+ HP dual or triple motor trend that is popular globally is for journalists and youtubers to make clickbait videos. Not at all practical.

[volkman10]

BYD launched in Malaysia, over 1.3k bookings in 4 days; early bird deal with free home charger.

Great road presence!

Due to what is being described as overwhelming demand for the electric sedan, SDM has announced the extension of its early booking campaign to March 3. Customers who place a booking for the Seal through BYD’s official website or at showrooms nationwide will receive a complimentary home charger and free Gentari or ChargEV charging credits worth RM800.

The Seal is available in two variants – the RWD Premium at RM180,430 and the Performance AWD at RM200,430, on-the-road without insurance.

The Premium features a single rear motor with 308 hp and 360 Nm. With a 82.5 kWh LFP Blade battery, range is up to 570 km in the WLTP cycle. The Performance’s dual-motor powertrain combines a 215 hp/310 Nm front motor to a 308 hp/360 Nm rear unit to offer a total output of 523 hp and 670 Nm. It has the same 82.5 kWh battery and a quoted range of 520 km. The Premium gets from 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds, while the Performance does it in 3.8 seconds.

For charging, both the Premium and Performance feature 7 kW AC Type 2 charging, and the time needed to get the battery from 0-100% SoC is 15.2 hours. With DC charging at a maximum rate of 150 kW, it takes 37 minutes to get from 10% to 80% SoC.

Link:

[zandot]

Not sure what the other dealerships are like but the Goa one run by Bavaria motors seems to be quite clueless. Called up to inquire about placing a booking and there was no professionalism. First they weren't sure what the SEAL was and then quoted 70lakhs expected price for the base model.

Managed to get the managers number only to be told that he has taken 10-15 bookings himself and that I should immediately pay the booking amount and that I would need to come down to the showroom to do the same. Makes me dread to think what the after sales service will be like. I think this will have to be a wait and watch.

[sri_tesla]

Originally Posted by volkman10

BYD launched in Malaysia, over 1.3k bookings in 4 days; early bird deal with free home charger.

The Seal is available in two variants – the RWD Premium at RM180,430 and the Performance AWD at RM200,430, on-the-road without insurance.

BYD Atto 3 Malaysia price:
Base with 50 kWh battery = RM 1,49,800 (Rs 26 lakhs)
Extended range with 60 kWh = RM 1,67,800 (Rs 29.2 lakhs)

BYD Atto 3 India price:
60 kWh variant = Rs 35 lakhs

BYD Seal Malaysia price:
Premium (extended range 82.kWh) = RM 1,79,800 (Rs 31.3 lakhs)
Performance (AWD) = RM 1,99,800 (Rs 34.8 lakhs)

BYD India price: ?

In India, BYD is launching the entry level variant (61 kWh) with much smaller battery. Why would the starting price will be Rs 55 lakhs as many of the websites claiming? I don't think the starting price will be higher than Rs 40 lakhs.

[prajwalmr62]

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

In India, BYD is launching the entry level variant (61 kWh) with much smaller battery. Why would the starting price will be Rs 55 lakhs as many of the websites claiming? I don't think the starting price will be higher than Rs 40 lakhs.

I really hope you are right and everyone else is wrong and they price it around 30-35L. I mentally mark up every car prices by 2x to convert them to India price.

[Maky]

Originally Posted by volkman10

BYD Seal variant-wise features revealed ahead of launch.

Anyone familiar with the pricing of this product?
I've zero idea about BYD range beyond what they sell here. Is it a Octavia kind of sized/priced car or something along the lines of Camry/Superb'ish?

Thanks.

[satish.gawai]

Originally Posted by prajwalmr62

Then what is the point of leasing? You will not get tax benefits since it is not deducted before salary. You can save by going with traditional car loan.

You are right. So giving up the idea of leasing the car at the moment. Need to go for a loan may be, or search for the company that provide leasing facility
Joking.

[84.monsoon]

The issue is probably the 100% import duties that kick in above the 40k USD threshold. As the import price of the Seal, especially higher variants, will go above this mark, it would be very hard for them to keep the end India market price in check, especially on a niche model, which they may not want to subsidize.

[Hume]

Originally Posted by Maky

Anyone familiar with the pricing of this product?
I've zero idea about BYD range beyond what they sell here. Is it a Octavia kind of sized/priced car or something along the lines of Camry/Superb'ish?

Thanks.

Clearly superb's category, not octavia's. The increase in the width and especially wheelbase should contribute to an overall more comfortable interior space than that of Superb.

Dimensions :
Seal : 4,800mm length, 1,875mm width, 1,460mm height and 2,920mm wheelbase
Octavia : 4,689mm length, 1,829mm width, 1,469mm height and 2,680mm wheellbase
Superb : 4,869mm length, 1,864mm width, 1,469mm height and 2,841mm wheelbase
Camry : 4,885mm length, 1,840mm width, 1,455mm height and 2,825mm wheelbase

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

The issue is probably the 100% import duties that kick in above the 40k USD threshold. As the import price of the Seal, especially higher variants, will go above this mark, it would be very hard for them to keep the end India market price in check, especially on a niche model, which they may not want to subsidize.

Fair point for the higher variants. But the 61.4kWh lower variant should not breach that 40k USD threshold anyway. So the price for that should at least be very competitive.

By the way, so far all the websites that are claiming to "reveal" or "leak" specs are IMO still speculating. So nothing is official yet but very keen to see how this plays out!

[GoBabyGo]

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

BYD Atto 3 Malaysia price:
Base with 50 kWh battery = RM 1,49,800 (Rs 26 lakhs)
Extended range with 60 kWh = RM 1,67,800 (Rs 29.2 lakhs)

BYD Atto 3 India price:
60 kWh variant = Rs 35 lakhs

BYD Seal Malaysia price:
Premium (extended range 82.kWh) = RM 1,79,800 (Rs 31.3 lakhs)
Performance (AWD) = RM 1,99,800 (Rs 34.8 lakhs)

BYD India price: ?

In India, BYD is launching the entry level variant (61 kWh) with much smaller battery. Why would the starting price will be Rs 55 lakhs as many of the websites claiming? I don't think the starting price will be higher than Rs 40 lakhs.

Hi, my wild guess is close to your assumption. I think it will start with 45 lacs and end at 59 lacs ex showroom. Seal is a fantastic product, it is just that Chinese manufacturers (BYD, MG etc.) need to learn how to integrate their audio system screen in dashboard as sober as Kia Seltos.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by volkman10

The Premium features a single rear motor with 308 hp and 360 Nm. With a 82.5 kWh LFP Blade battery, range is up to 570 km in the WLTP cycle.

How have they just added up the numbers from both motors with simple addition?

Can you add horsepower and torque like that from multiple motors?

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

BYD Atto 3 Malaysia price:
Base with 50 kWh battery = RM 1,49,800 (Rs 26 lakhs)
Extended range with 60 kWh = RM 1,67,800 (Rs 29.2 lakhs)

I'm hoping they are going to pull a Mahindra and have everyone speculate on the price being 55L and then launch it at 40L and have it instantly sell out

[evolvo]

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

BYD Atto 3 Malaysia price:
Base with 50 kWh battery = RM 1,49,800 (Rs 26 lakhs)
Extended range with 60 kWh = RM 1,67,800 (Rs 29.2 lakhs)

BYD Atto 3 India price:
60 kWh variant = Rs 35 lakhs

BYD Seal Malaysia price:
Premium (extended range 82.kWh) = RM 1,79,800 (Rs 31.3 lakhs)
Performance (AWD) = RM 1,99,800 (Rs 34.8 lakhs)

BYD India price: ?

In India, BYD is launching the entry level variant (61 kWh) with much smaller battery. Why would the starting price will be Rs 55 lakhs as many of the websites claiming? I don't think the starting price will be higher than Rs 40 lakhs.

Atto 3 was imported as an SKD with 30% customs duty.

Seal is being imported as a CBU, which means customs duty will be 70% for cars under 40k, and 100% for cars over 40k. So even if the base variant is under 40k, it will still end up with a 70% duty.

I’m guessing they will have an introductory price of ~49 lacs for the base variant, ~59 for the mid variant and ~66 for the top variant.

The base variant competes against Ioniq5, mid variant against Kia EV6 and top variant against BMW i4. Each variant has a competitive advantage.

Summary:
All in all, I think the Seal is a terrific product if priced competitively. It has a skateboard platform, the BYD blade battery and a super slick exterior.

The only drawbacks are a cheesy steering/gear design, and an abysmal boot space. Not acceptable in this class/segment of car.

Tesla Model 3 - a more sensible bet?
I guess it makes sense to wait for the impending Tesla launch in India. The refreshed Model 3 could start under 40 lacs (with proposed 15% customs) and is leagues ahead of Seal in most areas:
- charge tech (250kWh vs 150kwh)
- boot space(561+88frunk vs 400+50frunk)
- cabin design (nirvana vs circus)
- infotainment (rear screen vs none)
- usability (software, apps and integration)
- and autonomy