[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Ayush_atish

I don't think this is in India at the moment. It's some outside india outlet I guess ??

Apologies, should have included in my original post - this is in Malaysia.

[skydiver]

Saw the sealion at the showroom today. not available for a TD though. The car is very very promising for the folks looking for luxury EV. The interiors looks good, although too black for my taste), the heavy and solid doors give some sort of assurance.

Rear seats are pretty comfortable and overall visibilty from driver's seat is excellent.

Eagerly waiting for TC vehicle to arrive.

It will be tough one to choose between iX1 LWB and Sealion 7..

[OffRoadFun]

I got a call from the SA that they have a Sealion 7 ready for test drive and that will be one of the first few ones in BLR probably.

I asked the family ( I had paid 70k to pre-book) but they were not keen, I decided to go ahead alone, could not resist the excitement honestly.


I am not an expert at reviewing honestly but here is what I think (since I am in market for a car):

The Car looks beautiful and polished (bit subjective). My son who finally saw it, said it looks much better that it does in youtube or other videos.

Pros:
1. Interior quality is good and certainly gives premium look
2. Drives extremely smooth as an EV should. Even the "low" powered RWD was so much fun to drive. And though it has a similar 0-100 time as much Q5 (~7s), it was much smoother.
3. Loaded with tech, ADAS features. Lane assistance, adaptive cruise control, voice activated commands for shutting windows etc (I understand many of these features are in Kia/Mahindra also but my view might be biased due to an older car right now). ALso, some of the German luxury cars which I test drove recently did not have these features. 306 degrees camera and a camera which tells you what is beneath also.
4. Spacious: I am 6'3" and there was ample space for me on backside also.
5. I liked the glass roof, gives a feeling of open, especially given the black interiors which I am not a big fan of.





Side view:



Back view:




360 deg view:

Gear lever:



Ample backseat legspace (driver seat was adjusted for me):


Frunk is decently big:



The headroom is enough even for someone 6'3":

Finally, a view alongside with Q5:

and back:


WIll have to wait for the prices to be disclosed and approval from better half who likes the Star more and beige interiors!

[Ayush_atish]

Originally Posted by skydiver

Saw the sealion at the showroom today. not available for a TD though. The car is very very promising for the folks looking for luxury EV. The interiors looks good, although too black for my taste), the heavy and solid doors give some sort of assurance.

Rear seats are pretty comfortable and overall visibilty from driver's seat is excellent.

Eagerly waiting for TC vehicle to arrive.

It will be tough one to choose between iX1 LWB and Sealion 7..

Which showroom and city is it available on display ??

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

I got a call from the SA that they have a Sealion 7 ready for test drive and that will be one of the first few ones in BLR probably.

It sure looks beautiful in black. Have booked black color only.

Same situations in my family too. Have booked it but no one seems excited But the driver first in me wants this over any badge as I know it can easily beat any entry level german trio for sure.

Let's hope prices come to be not more then 45. Then only it can make sense otherwise Adios to this and will welcome home the usuals.

[OffRoadFun]

Originally Posted by Ayush_atish

Let's hope prices come to be not more then 45. Then only it can make sense otherwise Adios to this and will welcome home the usuals

From what I heard, they are going to price it around 55L OTR in BLR for RWD and 60L+ for the performance (AWD) version.

[Ayush_atish]

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

From what I heard, they are going to price it around 55L OTR in BLR for RWD and 60L+ for the performance (AWD) version.

I don't really think they will be able to sell at that price. Honestly even at 50L OTR people already thinking badge value. If they go at 60 trust me it won't sell and I am sure BYD knows this and they will also be monitoring Mahindra XEV 9E which honestly is not it's competition however a very very solid alternate.

I am sure to drop booking at that price myself and I am sure many will. So still hoping.. 15 days to go let's see.. I really want this though

[kgt.v8]

Originally Posted by Ayush_atish

Let's hope prices come to be not more then 45. Then only it can make sense otherwise Adios to this and will welcome home the usuals

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

From what I heard, they are going to price it around 55L OTR in BLR for RWD and 60L+ for the performance (AWD) version.

I believe Sealion 7 will be CBU just like Atto3 which will result in higher import duties. Sealion7 starts at 189,000 Yuan in China which translates to approximately ₹22.55 lakh. Adding CBU import tax of 100% takes the price to roughly ₹45 lakh as people are expecting.

Atto3 is still a CBU and government blocked BYD's investment of about $1 billion recently. At first I thought Atto3 and Sealion 7 would benefit from reduced import duties on CBU announced in budget. AIDC (Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess) might not give eventual reduction in CBU import taxes.
If government allows BYD to manufacture locally, BYD EVs could be available at very competitive prices and current EV makers in India may not be able to match those prices.

[harmon_bro]

Test drove today in Bangalore. Don't want to repeat anything about how good the car is and how it feels. All good indeed. But, me too heard about the Premium model Rs.55L on road is "tentative". Do you all think after yesterday's budget announcement on the batteries, might influence the Rs.45L ex pricing to drop further down? Iam just hoping so, because like everyone else me too feel that the car if priced any higher than 45L, does not make sense for BYD.

[Ayush_atish]

Originally Posted by kgt.v8

I believe Sealion 7 will be CBU just like Atto3 which will result in higher import duties. Sealion7 starts at 189,000 Yuan in China which translates to approximately ₹22.55 lakh. Adding CBU import tax of 100% takes the price to roughly ₹45 lakh as people are expecting.

Atto3 is still a CBU and government blocked BYD's investment of about $1 billion recently. At first I thought Atto3 and Sealion 7 would benefit from reduced import duties on CBU announced in budget. AIDC (Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess) might not give eventual reduction in CBU import taxes.
If government allows BYD to manufacture locally, BYD EVs could be available at very competitive prices and current EV makers in India may not be able to match those prices.

This seems logical however I am sure BYD knows that they can't sell this for 55-60 in India. Also if it sells for 22.5 in China, that has its own tax and profits too. So let's assume car's actual cost to BYD is 18 lakhs. If you add taxes to this price ++ then around 40lakh landing cost to India plus 2-3 lakh dealer profits etc plus BYD profit so again around 45 lakh

Also ATTO in china sells at around 16600$ and yet in India they are able to sell it for 24-34 hence eager and not losing Hope.
I don't know man. I just want this costing to work . The only reason I let go of the Seal was the GC and now if this becomes overpriced, then what can we do. Then Germans are destined to enter my home once again

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

4. Spacious: I am 6'3" and there was ample space for me on backside also.

Thanks for the review. In both pictures where are you sitting (front & rear), under thigh support is less it seems. Yes for your height it is okay, but I feel the front should have much better thigh support at this prospective price point.

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

306 degrees camera and a camera which tells you what is beneath also.

On a lighter note, 306-degree camera is definitely a new technology.

[TokyoDrifter]

The Sealion7 sales training at the dealerships have begun in India. Test drives should start very soon officially.

[Ayush_atish]

Originally Posted by TokyoDrifter

The Sealion7 sales training at the dealerships have begun in India. Test drives should start very soon officially.

Spoke to my guy in Delhi (Okhla) they are saying second week of Feb.. hopefully next week. Anyone from Delhi and have booked in Okhla can come with me

[Ayush_atish]

Originally Posted by kgt.v8

.
Atto3 is still a CBU and government blocked BYD's investment of about $1 billion recently. At first I thought Atto3 and Sealion 7 would benefit from reduced import duties on CBU announced in budget. AIDC (Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess) might not give eventual reduction in CBU import taxes.
If government allows BYD to manufacture locally, BYD EVs could be available at very competitive prices and current EV makers in India may not be able to match those prices.

I don't think government will allow this anytime soon. If this happens, the Chinese will complete kill the rising Indian EV industry. Tata's and Mahindra's won't be able to compete with these International level products at all.

Think for yourself - If BYD atto 3 sells at 20 Lakh will you ever buy a Curvv or a Nexon ?? Similarly if Sealion 7 is priced at 35 Lakh, will you every buy one of the new Mahindra Twins?? Hence this in my opinion will continue until they do a JSW MG types merger which is for now a distant reality.

Anyways let's see. Clock is ticking... Heck it all seems like a project . Gone are those days where buying a car was a day's decision

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by Ayush_atish

I don't think government will allow this anytime soon. If this happens, the Chinese will complete kill the rising Indian EV industry. Tata's and Mahindra's won't be able to compete with these International level products at all.

Think for yourself - If BYD atto 3 sells at 20 Lakh will you ever buy a Curvv or a Nexon ?? Similarly if Sealion 7 is priced at 35 Lakh, will you every buy one of the new Mahindra Twins?? Hence this in my opinion will continue until they do a JSW MG types merger which is for now a distant reality.

Wasnt this exactly the mindset when we removed barriers in the 90s. Everyone felt Bajaj, Hero, TVS and Maruti will die when Ford, GM, etc enter India. We all know what happened.

I can understand giving the Indian companies some time or pushing BYD/Tesla to manufacture in India. But anything above is not good for the customer in the long run.

[Ayush_atish]

Originally Posted by m8002?

Wasnt this exactly the mindset when we removed barriers in the 90s. Everyone felt Bajaj, Hero, TVS and Maruti will die when Ford, GM, etc enter India. We all know what happened.

I can understand giving the Indian companies some time or pushing BYD/Tesla to manufacture in India. But anything above is not good for the customer in the long run.

100% Agreed. Hence I know that this will surely happen in some time but that sometime is not near.