BYD has chosen Thailand as the venue for the global launch of the right-hand-drive Seal 5 plug-in hybrid in a move to expand its presence in the local B-segment car market.
The Chinese automaker, more well-known for its electric vehicles, is producing the Seal 5 PHEV at its assembly plant in Rayong province. BYD is one of the fastest-growing brands in Thailand thanks to popularity of its electric vehicles, although it has also been criticized for aggressive price-dumping strategies for some of its ageing models.
Like other BYD models, the Seal 5 PHEV features BYD’s “Ocean Aesthetics” design concept featuring Dot Matrix frameless front grille and LED headlights with light bar. Tail lamps come with sequential turn signals.
The wheelbase is 2,718mm, making it the longest B-segment sedan in the market, offering large interior space.
BYD Auto (Thailand) general manager Yubin Ke said this is the fourth model from BYD to be assembled in Thailand.
“BYD sees the world-class potential in automobile production in Thailand and has given importance in starting production of new models in Thailand,” he said. “We are also determined to setting new standards for the Thai subcompact car market by being the first manufacturer to offer a PHEV powertrain.”
For the Thai market, there are two variants for the Seal 5 PHEV – Standard and Premium – with the latter retailing at Bt769,000 (Bt699,900 for the introductory period from August 8-30). While the Premium variant is ready for delivery right after launch, pricing of the Standard version will be announced at a later date, with first deliveries taking place in 2026.
It is understood that BYD is waiting for Toyota to launch the hybrid-powered Yaris ATIV HEV on August 21 before finalizing the price of the Seal 5 PHEV standard version. The Seal 5 PHEV fits in between the Dolphin and Atto 3, which are both electric vehicles.
The new model is powered by the DM-i plug-in hybrid system comprising of a 1.5-liter internal combustion engine and electric motor producing a total output of 160kW (217ps) and 300Nm of torque.
It comes with an 18.3kWh blade battery offering an all-electric range of 120km NEDC (94.4km WLTP) while the average fuel economy is claimed at 3.8l/100km (26.3km/liter). Acceleration from 0-100km/h takes 7.5 seconds while the top speed is claimed at 180km/h.
The BYD Intelligent Cockpit in the Seal 5 Premium features an 8.8-in digital driver display and 12.8-in center touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. NFC Card, digital key and OTA updating are also offered.
There’s a large amount of soft-touch areas, sports front seats with power adjustment, rotary-type gear selector, 360-degree camera, ADAS package, wireless phone charger and split-foldable rear seats.
