On November 29, BYD celebrated the 200,000th Seagull EV rolling off the assembly line.
The BYD Seagull made headlines as one of the most affordable electric vehicles on the market. It debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2023 with a price tag of $11,300 in China. According to CnEVPost, the BYD Seagull currently has three variants on the market.
The base Seagull variant starts at RMB 73,800 ($10,360). The mid-tier Seagull started at RMB 78,800, while the top-tier variant started at RMB 89,800.
Forbes speculated that the Seagull, labeled Blade, might be equipped with BYD’s lithium-ion phosphate batteries. In 2021, news spread that Tesla might use BYD’s ultra-safe Blade battery for vehicles made in Giga Shanghai. At the time, rumors linked the BYD Blade battery pack with Tesla’s upcoming $25,000 electric vehicle.
In July 2023, a video in China compared the Tesla Model 3’s 2170 battery pack with the BYD Han’s Blade pack. The battery packs looked similar during the teardown, but that is where their similarities ended.
According to Chinese reports, the BYD Seagull offers two battery options. The first option is a 30 kWh LFP battery with an estimated range of 305 km based on China’s CLTC standard. The second option is a 38 kWh LFP battery, offering an estimated 405 km range.
The BYD Seagull was also rumored to be using a sodium-ion battery pack, but it has yet to be confirmed by the Chinese automaker. Sodium-ion batteries are believed to be less prone to fires and cost less compared to traditional battery chemistries.
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