[v1p3r]

Man, I can't wait for a proper review of the AWD variant. This might be the car of the decade! Under 75 lakhs, BMW and Audi now have no reason for existence barring snob value.

Originally Posted by sjain2054

When you are in such a conflict with a nation, it is not prudent to allow them to do business on your territory.

Vande Bharat trains run on Chinese wheels and Nagpur and Bengaluru Metros run on Chinese coaches. If the government can buy from China, why can't ordinary citizens? At least we are paying GST and other taxes locally.

[Freespirit27]

It is just a market disruption strategy and may not be necessarily sustainable like all products and projects - Chinese.
As I had said in another Chinese car thread- they creep in with a minimum viable product as far as safety and quality is concerned and this is normally overshadowed by bells and whistles on offer. In the end the intent is just to disrupt local manufacturing capabilities.
They can provide value or low price by virtue of huge manufacturing plants operating with low labour cost & supplemented by their government discounts.

[Hume]

Originally Posted by Freespirit27

As I had said in another Chinese car thread- they creep in with a minimum viable product as far as safety and quality is concerned and this is normally overshadowed by bells and whistles on offer.

What minimum viable product? It's got 5 star ratings in both Euro NCAP and Aus NCAP, just saying.

Safety reports attached for your reference.

[itwasntme]

For BLR, PPS BYD Yelahanka have started showroom test drives with a RWD Premium variant.

[sierrabravo98]

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[GTO]

Mod Note: Strictly no discussions on politics or politicians please.

On this thread, we should discuss only the BYD Seal. Thanks for the support & understanding

[StarrySky]

I test drove the BYD Seal in Finland.

BYD has taken aim at Tesla Model 3 with the Seal, and it shows in its looks, interior, features, specs and price. If Tesla had given the Seal's looks to the updated Model 3, it wouldn't have looked out of place. The 3.8S badging, however, looks cheesy. But way better than having Build Your Dreams plastered across the rear.

Coming from a crossover, my biggest complaint was ingress/egress. The interior is not as minimalist as the Tesla (thankfully). The seats are comfortable, but I thought maybe they are a bit too soft. The front seats provide good support. The steering wheel is chunky and nice to hold. There are some real buttons there as well. One ergonomic issue is that the edge of the main infotainment screen is blocked by the steering and the driver's hands when in motion. We can put the screen in portrait mode, but I heard that Android Auto and Apple Carplay don't work in portrait mode. The infotainment screen and software is quite responsive, much better than my VW ID.4.

I drove mainly on a busy highway, so I wasn't able to go beyond 80km/h or test any high speed dynamics. The ride didn't feel plush, but I wouldn't call it stiff either. In this area, my VW ID.4 has the edge.

I didn't test the economy, but the car was showing a range of 462km at 95% at around 2-3C temperature. I am not sure if it is calculated based on the recent consumption or a value based on the WLTP range.

The regen didn't feel too strong, but the brakes felt very sharp. Perhaps, it is only a matter of getting used to the car.

The HUD was bright and legible, but navigation prompts do not show up on the HUD.

The rear seats also felt comfortable, and the under-thigh support felt good for a person of average Indian height. Taller passengers will also not complain about knee room. But under-thigh support could be lacking, as it is not possible to slide the feet under the front seats. No idea how the ride is at the back, as I was always the one driving. Headroom is also good in front and rear.

The storage space is good in the front and the central storage is deep. The cabin quality felt good upfront.

The Seal is feature-packed and there is almost nothing that is missing. The Seal is priced at €47990 for the RWD version and €50990 for the AWD version here. Tesla Model 3 is the only competition, as the Ioniq 6 and ID.7 are much more expensive, to the tune of nearly €12000. I wouldn't be surprised if this car starts selling in large numbers.

[sjain2054]

Originally Posted by Aditya

claimed 0-100 km/h time of 3.8 seconds.

Everything else aside - price, range anxiety etc etc - I am genuinely excited about this figure. Nothing else matters to the driver in me. After seeing this figure, I read so much more about the car and its dynamics that I actually had a dream about it last night.. haha! What a time to be alive! I said it before & I am saying it again..by 2026-7 we will see such affordable and fast EVs that today's cars and prices will seem really obsolete. 0-100 in 3 secs will be available in 20 lacs or so and that too with all the fancy features. That is how fast the battery prices are falling.

Last time I had a dream about a car was when I test drove the C3 turbo. Love how it looks too.

I am in Bhopal for the time being and will return home to Bombay only in April/May so I am planning to call the BYD dealer in Indore and go for a test drive. It'll be epic. I am truly excited like a little kid right now. Just to make my BYD experience seem even more special, I will drive down in the Nano to Indore. Imagine how much better the Seal will be after a 200km Nano drive.. haha.. nah kidding, I love my purana 14 years ka saathi Nano. But they are totally opposite of each other - one is the simplest mechanicals ICE present today and the other the most modern car available today. What a time to be able to have TOTAL FUN in both types of cars. Slotting the gears perfectly in a Nano and flooring the Seal from 0kmph onwards.. oh man!!

Any BHPian from Bhopal/Indore wants to join in? We can plan this together.

[volkman10]

BYD SEAL shows its massive road presence.



Link:

[84.monsoon]

With the latest drop in import duties to just 15% for EVs from manufacturers who invest substantially in the country (Tesla -GOI deal), premium cars from BYD such as the Seal may get a lot more affordable. Currently as CBUs, these vehicles are probably being taxed at 70% import duties. BYD is probably importing the top variant of the Seal, which it sells for 53 lakhs, at about 28 lakhs and paying an import duty of 70%, i.e., 19 lakhs, taking cost to 47 lakhs..Add some 6 lakhs for some basic profit and dealer margins etc. and they sell at 53 lakhs.

Now imagine BYD commits a big investment in India. They have already been speaking of a billion dollars of investment in the middle of last year. If there able to crystallize this investment and qualify for the 15% import duties, the top variant of the seal could be imported in the above calculation at 4.2 lacs duty instead of 19 lakhs import duty. This would then mean with the same calculation, as above, that it could be priced in the market 38 lakhs instead of 53 lakhs - a saving of 15 lakhs.

If BYD does not make the investment to qualify for the lower import duties, it could then loose the race to Tesla. Tesla is definitely going to overprice their cars for India, however with a huge import duty advantage they may still be able to come in at prices closer to that of the Seal. The brand value and premium that Tesla can command is obviously much higher than BYD, and the customer in India will open up their wallets much wider for an overpriced Tesla than a fairly priced BYD.

All in all a great time for EV buyers. Competition is going to heat up and prices for quality global products are going to drop. Not so good news for Indian EV manufacturers like Tata and Mahindra who have been enjoying good pricing power so far, but will now have to face competition from world class products which will hit the market at highly competitive prices.

If I was a one considering buying a car like the BYD Seal, I would wait a few more months to figure out the impact of this import duty drop. The Seal & SUV based on the same platform will also be in the market soon and will provide the better ground clearance desperately needed for our roads. I expect if BYD does qualify for an import duty drop, they will bring in the Seal U at a price close to the once being charged for the Seal Sedan now and drop the Sedan price by at least 25%. They are being very aggressive on pricing and will continue to want to remain a premium value player with exceptionally attractive pricing.

[FourBanger]

Originally Posted by sjain2054

Any BHPian from Bhopal/Indore wants to join in? We can plan this together.

Count me in, I am currently in Indore.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

For BLR, PPS BYD Yelahanka have started showroom test drives with a RWD Premium variant.

BLR prices on road as received.

[blueather]

Carwale shows that none of BYD products have an immobilizer. Can anyone confirm this?
Because if it's true then it's a huge worry since all those Kia/Hyundai thefts that happened in USA were just because of no immobilizer.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by blueather

Carwale shows that none of BYD products have an immobilizer. Can anyone confirm this?
Because if it's true then it's a huge worry since all those Kia/Hyundai thefts that happened in USA were just because of no immobilizer.

All push button start systems along with Keyfob or card for authentication use immobilizer. So, all modern cars including BYD have immobilizer. May be those KIA/ Hyundai cars were key starts without immobilizer.

[autohead115]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

With the latest drop in import duties to just 15% for EVs from manufacturers who invest substantially in the country (Tesla -GOI deal), premium cars from BYD such as the Seal may get a lot more affordable. Currently as CBUs, these vehicles are probably being taxed at 70% import duties. BYD is probably importing the top variant of the Seal, which it sells for 53 lakhs, at about 28 lakhs and paying an import duty of 70%, i.e., 19 lakhs, taking cost to 47 lakhs..Add some 6 lakhs for some basic profit and dealer margins etc. and they sell at 53 lakhs.

Now imagine BYD commits a big investment in India. They have already been speaking of a billion dollars of investment in the middle of last year. If there able to crystallize this investment and qualify for the 15% import duties, the top variant of the seal could be imported in the above calculation at 4.2 lacs duty instead of 19 lakhs import duty. This would then mean with the same calculation, as above, that it could be priced in the market 38 lakhs instead of 53 lakhs - a saving of 15 lakhs.

If BYD does not make the investment to qualify for the lower import duties, it could then loose the race to Tesla. Tesla is definitely going to overprice their cars for India, however with a huge import duty advantage they may still be able to come in at prices closer to that of the Seal. The brand value and premium that Tesla can command is obviously much higher than BYD, and the customer in India will open up their wallets much wider for an overpriced Tesla than a fairly priced BYD.

All in all a great time for EV buyers. Competition is going to heat up and prices for quality global products are going to drop. Not so good news for Indian EV manufacturers like Tata and Mahindra who have been enjoying good pricing power so far, but will now have to face competition from world class products which will hit the market at highly competitive prices.

If I was a one considering buying a car like the BYD Seal, I would wait a few more months to figure out the impact of this import duty drop. The Seal & SUV based on the same platform will also be in the market soon and will provide the better ground clearance desperately needed for our roads. I expect if BYD does qualify for an import duty drop, they will bring in the Seal U at a price close to the once being charged for the Seal Sedan now and drop the Sedan price by at least 25%. They are being very aggressive on pricing and will continue to want to remain a premium value player with exceptionally attractive pricing.

Hi India had already rejected BYDs 1b manufacturing proposal.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../102036056.cms