Large seven-seat SUV will break new ground for BYD Australia, with the brand hoping to steal more than a few sales from established players like the Kia Sorento and Toyota Kluger.
Family Cars
BYD Australia’s first foray into the large SUV space with the Sealion 8 plug-in hybrid SUV cannot come soon enough, according to the brand.
Speaking to Drive, BYD Australia Head of Product Sajid Hasan said the new model could shake up the segment for the brand in the same way the Sealion 6 and Sealion 7 have.
“Sealion 8 represents an amazing opportunity for us, our customers and our dealers have been crying out for a seven-seater, and the fact that we get to bring in Sealion 8 with DM-i 5.0 plug-in hybrid, I think it’s going to be a great fit for the Australian market,” Hasan said.
“Its size, its proportions, its styling, the battery technology and electric motor technology in it is the latest, so I think it’s going to hit well with the Australian market.”
It is expected that the Sealion 8 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) will undercut its powertrain rivals, and could possibly come in under even series-parallel hybrid large SUVs too.
For reference, the Kia Sorento GT-Line PHEV is positioned at $84,660 before on-road costs and the Mazda CX-80 Touring PHEV is $75,250 – both of which would be direct rivals for the Sealion 8.
The Sealion 8 will come in at least two forms – the DM-i or the DM-p – both using a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine that punches out 110kW/220Nm.
The DM-i grade features a single 200kW/315Nm electric motor and a 19kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery, while the DM-p adds a 141kW/360Nm rear electric motor into the mix and a larger 35.6kWh battery.
Total outputs for Australian cars are yet to be revealed, but the overseas versions of the Sealion 8, known as the Tang L, has as much as 400kW, while range is rated at 170km and 145km respectively for the DM-i and DM-p grades on the more lenient CLTC standard.
Even if local cars take a hit in terms of outputs and driving range, the Sealion 8 is still expected to be competitive against other PHEVs in the segment, but still undercut rivals.
In fact, BYD Australia has a chance to position the Sealion 8 PHEV even below series-parallel hybrids like the Hyundai Santa Fe (from $57,000) and Toyota Kluger ($62,410).
Either way, the Sealion 8 will be positioned higher than the Sealion 6 mid-size plug-in hybrid SUV, which currently starts from $42,990 before on-road costs for the Essential, and tops out at $52,990 for the Premium.
Overseas pricing of Sealion 8 positions it below the Sealion 7 electric vehicle (EV), which is priced from $54,990 and extends to $63,990 in Australia, meaning BYD’s large seven-seater could be more affordable than its all-electric family SUV.
When asked on positioning of the Sealion 8, and whether it would top the $57,900 Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute, Hasan said both models – despite being PHEVs – occupy different market spaces.
“They’re very different categories, so the Shark is our flagship commercial vehicle, and the Sealion 8 would be our flagship passenger car,” Hasan said.
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Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
