Analysts at Essence Securities expect steady-state monthly sales of the Seal to exceed 30,000 units.

(Image credit: BYD)

In addition to the expectations of ordinary consumers, analysts also have high hopes for BYD's (OTCMKTS: BYDDY, HKG: 1211) upcoming Seal model.

In terms of specifications including power, energy consumption, and size, BYD's upcoming all-electric Seal, which will open for pre-sale, has significant advantages over the Model 3, said the team of analysts led by Xu Huixiong at local brokerage Essence Securities, in a research note today.

Seal is expected to be the most important model in BYD's history, the team said, adding that with reference to Model 3 sales, they expect the model's steady-state monthly sales to exceed 30,000 units.

The model brings a lot of earnings elasticity, and its competitors include all fuel, new energy vehicles priced between RMB 150,000 (22,770) and 250,000, the team noted.

BYD has warmed up for the model several times this month, announcing its exterior as well as the interior, as the model's release gets closer.

Information recently released by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed that the BYD Seal has a length, width and height of 4,800 mm, 1,875 mm and 1,460 mm, and a wheelbase of 2,920 mm.

For comparison, the China-made Tesla Model 3 has a length, width and height of 4,694 mm, 1,850 mm and 1,443 mm respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,875 mm.

The Model 3 is currently offered in two versions in China, with the entry version priced at RMB 279,900 with an expected delivery date of 20-24 weeks and the Performance version priced at RMB 367,900 with an expected delivery date of 16-20 weeks.

The BYD Seal will be available in three range versions, with its standard range model equipped with a 150-kW rear electric motor and a maximum combined range of 550km. Its long-range version is equipped with a 230-kW rear electric motor and a maximum combined range of 700 km.

The top trim 4WD version has a total front and rear motor power of 390kW, a maximum range of 650 km and an acceleration time of 3.8 seconds from 0-100 km/h.

As previously reported, BYD Seal is expected to open for pre-sale in May, with a possible price range of RMB 220,000 ($33,570) to RMB 280,000.

In addition, BYD's earnings announced yesterday showed that it reported a net profit attributable to the parent company of RMB 808 million ($123 million) in the first quarter, up 241 percent from RMB 237 million in the same period last year.

BYD achieved revenue of RMB 66.8 billion in the first quarter, up 63 percent from RMB 41 billion in the same period last year.

Analysts at Essence Securities believe BYD's performance in the second is expected to improve further, mainly due to:

1) The company raised the selling prices of its vehicles in the first quarter, which will be reflected in its second-quarter results.

2) High-margin models launched this year, such as Song Pro DMI, Song MAX DMI, Han DMI, and Destroyer 05 will start to see an increase in sales in the second quarter.

3) As sales volumes continue to rise, the scale effect is expected to further emerge and its average depreciation and amortization per vehicle, as well as expenses, will decline.