New BYD Seagull launched in China – 425 mm longer, 5 seats, 5-min flash charging; from 65,900 yuan (RM40k)

BYD has launched the second-generation Seagull in China, and its small EV has grown up in a big way. First seen in China’s MIIT filings in July, the new car is 425 mm longer than before, now seats five instead of four and has switched to rear-wheel drive. It also gets BYD’s flash charging, which can take the battery from 10% to 70% in five minutes.

There are five variants, priced from 65,900 yuan (about RM40k) to 99,900 yuan (RM61k). A 3,000 yuan trade-in discount applies across the range, which brings the starting price down to 62,900 yuan (RM38k). The car was launched on October 20 at the Zhengzhou International Circuit.

The new Seagull is 4,205 mm long, 1,810 mm wide and 1,570 mm tall, with a 2,650 mm wheelbase. Besides the extra length, it’s 95 mm wider and 30 mm taller than the old car, and the wheelbase is 150 mm longer. That makes it only slightly smaller than the Dolphin, which is 4,290 mm long with a 2,700 mm wheelbase.

There’s now a proper three-seat rear bench, with 1,242 mm of hip room according to BYD. The boot holds 380 litres, or 1,380 litres with the rear seats folded, and there’s also a 94-litre front boot that opens electrically. The turning radius is 4.95 metres.

BYD calls the design theme “Marine Aesthetics”, and the front gets trident-shaped position lights. The drag coefficient is 0.28. There are six colours: Lime Green, Berry Pink, Mango Orange, Ice Coconut Blue, Cream White and Sesame Grey.

The motor now sits at the rear and drives the rear wheels. The two 320 km variants get 85 kW (116 PS), while the three 420 km variants get 95 kW (129 PS). Both make 130 Nm of torque, and BYD quotes a 0-50 km/h time of 4.9 seconds for all five. Top speed is 150 km/h.

The rear suspension is now an independent multi-link setup, replacing the old car’s torsion beam, with MacPherson struts at the front. All variants have disc brakes all round and 205/60 R16 tyres.

Both batteries are BYD’s second-generation Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) packs. The 30.1 kWh pack is good for 320 km on the CLTC cycle and the 39.2 kWh pack for 420 km, and BYD quotes energy consumption from 9.0 kWh per 100 km. AC charging tops out at 7 kW on all variants.

Flash charging is only offered with the bigger battery, on the Ease, Flight and Smart. At BYD’s flash charging stations, it takes five minutes to go from 10% to 70% and nine minutes to reach 97%. BYD says charging at -30°C only takes about three minutes longer.

BYD says it had built 12,165 flash charging stations in China as of October 20, and aims to have 20,000 by the end of the year. As a launch offer, private buyers of the three flash-charging variants get 12 months of free charging at these stations.

All five variants get LED headlights, keyless entry and start, an NFC and Bluetooth phone key, automatic air-con, a 360-degree camera, sentry mode, front and front side airbags, vehicle-to-load (V2L) and 5G connectivity with over-the-air updates. The gear selector is a stalk on the steering column, and BYD has dropped the conventional instrument cluster, so driving information is shown on the central touchscreen.

The Vitality and Ease are the basic versions, with 16-inch steel wheels, manually adjusted seats, four speakers and a 12.8-inch touchscreen. The Freedom and Flight add 16-inch alloys, a powered tailgate, curtain airbags (for six in total), power-adjusted front seats with heating and ventilation, a massage function for the driver, 50 W wireless phone charging, eight speakers, rear air vents and multi-colour ambient lighting.

The Smart has everything in the Freedom and Flight, plus a larger 15.6-inch touchscreen, a dashcam and the lidar version of BYD’s God’s Eye B driver assistance system (DiPilot 300). It uses a lidar sensor, three radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors and 11 cameras, and brings navigate-on-autopilot on highways and in cities, adaptive cruise control, lane centring, blind spot monitoring, automated parking and autonomous emergency braking (AEB).

The other four variants don’t get AEB at all. They make do with cruise control, the 360-degree camera and rear parking sensors.

In China, BYD covers the battery, motor and electronic controls for life for the first private owner, while the vehicle warranty runs for six years or 150,000 km.

Outside China, the first-gen Seagull is sold as the Dolphin Mini in Latin America, the Dolphin Surf in Europe and the Atto 1 in markets including Singapore and Indonesia, where it’s also assembled locally. BYD hasn’t said when the new car will go on sale outside China.

The Seagull has never been sold in Malaysia. Under MITI’s CBU EV rules, which took effect on July 1, fully-imported EVs need a declared CIF value of at least RM200,000 and at least 180 kW of power, which rules out CBU imports of a car like this.

The only way in would be local assembly. On October 15, BYD Malaysia picked Sime Motors’ Inokom in Kulim as its CKD partner, though it hasn’t said which models will be built there. Locally-assembled EVs are fully exempt from import duty, excise duty and sales tax until the end of 2027.

Would you buy the new Seagull if it were assembled here?