BYD expects to steal a significant share of Australia’s modest wagon market with its new Seal 6 Touring.
Wagon and sedan versions of the Seal 6 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) arrived Down Under in May and recorded a combined 249 sales to the end of June.
However, BYD expects monthly sales to climb to between 300 and 400 units, with demand skewed towards the Touring flagship.
Should that forecast prove accurate, the Seal 6 Touring could overtake the Skoda Octavia and Subaru WRX Sportswagon to become the best-selling wagon in Australia.
“We don’t have huge ambitions for the sales volume of this vehicle. We’re planning for roughly 300 to 400 monthly Seal 6 sales,” BYD Australia chief product officer Sajid Hasan told CarExpert at the model’s local launch.
“It’s about showing that we can build a broad range of cars for all kinds of customers – fleets, private buyers, families and businesses – while also creating something that, as you’ve experienced, is emotionally appealing and fun to drive.”
Now on sale, the Seal 6 Touring is priced from $39,990 before on-road costs, making it the cheapest plug-in hybrid wagon available in Australia, as well as the country’s most affordable new wagon of any kind.
The Skoda Octavia wagon is priced from $43,990 drive-away, putting it in similar territory once the BYD’s on-road costs are included.
Beyond that, the Subaru WRX Sportswagon, Skoda Superb, and Cupra Leon Sportstourer all top $60,000.
Of those rivals, only the Superb and Leon Sportstourer are available with plug-in hybrid powertrains, priced at $66,990 drive-away and $69,990 before on-road costs respectively.
The Seal 6 therefore holds a substantial price advantage, which Mr Hasan believes will help drive demand.
“Given the price points of this vehicle, we’ve ensured that even our top grade is amazing value for money,” he said.
BYD Australia’s first mid-size wagon is 131mm longer than the Octavia wagon, as well as 46mm wider and 40mm taller on a 109mm longer wheelbase.
Both versions of the Seal 6 feature a 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder petrol engine at the heart of their DM 5.0 Super Hybrid powertrains, although the sedan has a 10.1kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and the wagon scores a larger 19kWh pack good for 100km of electric driving range.
In Touring guise, the system produces combined outputs of 163kW and drives the front wheels exclusively. BYD claims the wagon can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 8.1 seconds.
Standard equipment includes an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a suite of active safety and driver-assist technology including adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and child presence detection.
BYD’s latest push into Australia’s plug-in hybrid passenger-car market follows a record June result for the Chinese automaker.
It recorded 18,881 sales for the month – its highest tally to date and just 243 fewer than long-time market leader Toyota, which delivered 19,124 vehicles.
The result continues BYD’s rapid rise in Australia since entering the market in 2022, before its former independent distributor last year boldly predicted the brand would overtake Toyota as the country’s top-selling automaker by 2027.