BYD presents the Sea Lion 07 Coupé SUV at the Guangzhou Auto Show

The Chinese manufacturer continues to expand its range of electric vehicles, in this case with a new Coupé SUV. With the new Sea Lion 07, which has just been unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show, BYD aims to take on rivals of the calibre of the Tesla Model Y in the Chinese market, competing on both price and performance.

If everything goes to plan, this new Coupé SUV from BYD will reach the Chinese market during the first half of 2024, with a price ranging between 200,000 and 260,000 yuan depending on the version. That is, between 25 and 33 thousand euros. The entry-level version of the Tesla Model Y, equipped with an LFP battery pack, currently costs 263,900 yuan in China, so the launch of this Sea Lion 07 could hurt it quite a bit.

There are, however, even more affordable alternatives to the Sea Lion 07 within the same segment in the Chinese market, such as the KIA EV5, which will be sold there for slightly less than 160,000 yuan. Nevertheless, although it is also a mid-size SUV, the electric model from the South Korean manufacturer is not a Coupé SUV.

Remember this name: Sea Lion

The new Sea Lion 07 is based on BYD’s 3.0 platform, which uses cell-to-body battery technology. It is also the first model of a new sub-series within the Ocean range of the Chinese manufacturer, which includes the Seagull, Dolphin, Seal and Seal U models. The latter is also an SUV very similar to the new Sea Lion 07. Within this new sub-series, the Sea Lion 07 is expected to be joined soon by the Sea Lion 05 and Sea Lion 06.

This curious decision by BYD to create a sub-series within the Ocean range has been criticised by some Chinese media, which accuse the brand of starting to confuse consumers with these new names. And, in our opinion, they are not wrong. According to these media, BYD has embarked on a path similar to that of Geely, with the creation of new brands, sub-brands, series and sub-series that leave the consumer at a loss.

In addition to the Ocean range of electric models we have already mentioned, BYD’s catalogue also includes the Dinasty range, whose names correspond to Chinese dynasties. The Dinasty range from BYD consists of the Han, Tang, Yuan, Song and Qin models. All of them offer a higher level of luxury and exclusivity than those of the Ocean range.

Deciding which BYD model interests us may no longer be that easy

Finally, it is worth mentioning the similarities between the new Sea Lion 07 and the Seal U, the latter already on sale in Spain. This should come as no surprise, since the design of both models was overseen by former Audi designer Wolfgang Egger, currently BYD’s Head of Design since 2016. Both the Seal U and the Sea Lion 07 also have very similar dimensions, at 4.79 metres long for the former and 4.83 metres for the latter.

The Chinese manufacturer has not yet published data on the technical specifications of the Sea Lion 07, so perhaps that is where some differences may be found.