BYD Seal facelift gets faster charging and new self-driving tech
August 12, 2024 by Tom Wiltshire
Car changing is a big deal
The update, which is already on sale in China, upgrades the electric saloon’s architecture from 400V to 800V
- Revised BYD Seal further refines popular electric saloon car
- 800V systems reduce charging times by 30%
- Roof-mounted lidar sensor for sophisticated driving assistance tech
- Potential for a slightly reduced range
- Interior gets an update too
- Making a good car even better?
The BYD Seal hasn’t been on sale in the UK for very long but it could be due its first mid-life facelift fairly imminently. The update to the all-electric Seal has already been revealed in China, and it’s very likely to be offered in the UK too.
The update to this Tesla Model 3 alternative isn’t drastic, but includes improvements to the underlying electrical systems, a revised interior, and a roof-mounted lidar sensor that could make its driver assistance systems significantly more advanced.
New BYD Seal: design and tech
The new Seal doesn’t look any different outwardly, and retains its sleek silhouette with sculpted body sides, a dropped nose and tapering rear for optimal aerodynamics. However, impossible to miss is the only exterior addition – a bulge above the windscreen containing the Seal’s new lidar sensor array.
Appearing rather unfortunately like a taxi sign, this bank of sensors should improve the Seal’s semi-autonomous driving functions, possibly even enabling something similar to Tesla’s ‘navigate on Autopilot’.
BYD also highlighted improvements to the car’s adaptive cruise control and automatic parking systems.
Inside, changes are more obvious. There’s a new four-spoke steering wheel and a new dashboard design, with BYD’s trademark rotating infotainment display now sitting alongside a large instrument display for the driver. The dashboard also loses its sculpted plastic texture, which previously made the air vents something of a design feature – instead there’s a minimalist flat panel.
The centre console’s also had its piano black finish swapped out for a more fingerprint-friendly matte grey, while the door cards have been redesigned.
BYD Seal facelift: batteries, motors and charging
The biggest upgrade BYD has made to the Seal is the fitment of a new 800V electrical system. To put it simply, this allows more power to move around the car – enabling a faster charge rate, as well as some additional improvements like uprated adaptive suspension which has a wider scope of ability.
BYD hasn’t revealed what the new charge rate is – the old car was capped at 150kW, enabling a 10-80% charge in 37 minutes. It can now do the same percentage in 25 minutes, a 30%+ improvement.
A slightly smaller battery is in the works for the Chinese-market model, though – 80.6kWh vs the current car’s 82.5kWh pack. The impact on range figures is unknown, with a figure only given for China’s more lenient testing cycle.
When can I buy a new BYD Seal?
We’d expect the facelifted model to come to the UK, and BYD’s pace of model releases suggests it could be before the end of 2024. However, this hasn’t been confirmed, nor has a price been announced.
See what Mat made of the BYD Seal in our video review here:
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