BYD's Seal DM-i will hit the market in the third quarter, and the Zhengzhou base is expected to have a monthly production capacity of up to 30,000 units.
(Image credit: BYD)
BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) has seen the first production cars of the Seal DM-i roll off the assembly line, with the plug-in hybrid model expected to boost sales of the Seal lineup.
The first Seal DM-i production vehicles rolled off the line today at BYD's Zhengzhou plant in central China's Henan province, with the model expected to go on sale in the third quarter, the local Henan Daily reported today.
BYD's Zhengzhou base has a planned capacity to produce hundreds of thousands of new energy vehicles (NEVs) annually, and the Seal DM-i is expected to have a monthly production capacity of up to 30,000 units, the report said, citing Ning Libang, director of the product center of BYD's Ocean network sales division, at a launch event.
Initially launched in China on July 29, 2022, the BYD Seal is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that is seen as one of the strongest rivals to the Tesla Model 3 in China.
Deliveries of the model began last August, and BYD made a revamped version of the Seal available on May 10.
The Seal DM-i was originally the Chaser 07, which debuted on April 18, the first day of the Shanghai auto show. BYD said at the time that the model would start at RMB 200,000 yuan ($27,700) to 250,000 yuan, with an expected launch date in the third quarter.
On July 14, BYD renamed the Chaser 07 the Seal DM-i, seemingly hoping to capitalize on the Seal lineup's greater popularity.
In September 2021, BYD signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Henan provincial government to build an NEV production base in the central Chinese province.
On April 6 this year, the first phase of BYD's Zhengzhou base saw its first production vehicle roll off the production line, a Song Pro DM-i.
The first phase of the plant has a planned annual capacity of 400,000 units, and the production base will have second and third phases, which will have a total capacity of more than 1 million units when completed, a local TV station report said at the time.
The Seal DM-i is a B+ sedan with a length, width and height of 4,980 mm, 1,890 mm and 1,495 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,900 mm, according to BYD's previous announcement.
For comparison, the BYD Seal BEV has a length, width and height of 4,800 mm, 1,875 mm, 1,460 mm and a wheelbase of 2,920 mm.
The Seal DM-i is offered in two range variants with NEDC pure electric ranges of 121 km and 200 km respectively.
Yesterday, BYD unveiled the interior details of the Seal DM-i.
BYD sold 253,046 NEVs in June, up 88.79 percent from 134,036 units in the same month a year ago and up 5.34 percent from 240,220 units in May.
BYD Seal sold 8,134 units in June, up 0.68 percent from May. The model sold 42,797 units in the first half of the year.
($1 = RMB 7.2192)
Automakers' share in China NEV market in Jun: BYD 34.7%, Tesla 11.2%
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