BYD has launched the 2026 Sealion 05 series in China with two drivetrain choices: a DM-i plug-in hybrid from 97,900 yuan (14,360 USD) and a battery-electric EV from 119,900 yuan (17,600 USD). Both carry the second-generation Blade Battery, and the EV gets BYD's megawatt flash-charging pack that takes the battery back to full in roughly five minutes on compatible hardware. Range on the EV is 630 km CLTC, with a top-trim 0-100 km/h of 5.9 seconds.
The DM-i tops the spec sheet with a headline combined range of 2,105 km on a full tank and a full charge. That number is calculated at optimal low-speed conditions and almost nobody sees it on the highway, but the low-battery fuel figure of 3.1 L/100 km is the honest metric and it is competitive with anything in the compact SUV PHEV segment globally. Hybrid battery choices run 26.628 kWh or 34.275 kWh, for 220 or 305 km CLTC of electric-only range. The larger pack reads as a direct response to Li Auto's range-extender positioning.
The Price Isn't A Promotion, It's A Floor
The Sealion 05 DM-i at 97,900 yuan is 14,360 USD for a plug-in hybrid compact SUV with 220 km of CLTC electric-only range, urban-navigation-capable ADAS as an option, and a 2,770 mm wheelbase. The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid starts at the equivalent of roughly 22,000 USD in China, and Toyota does not offer a plug-in variant below 30,000 USD.
BYD does not sell the Sealion 05 to make money. It sells the Sealion 05 to deny shelf space to anyone else. The 30,000-yuan spread between the DM-i base and the EV top is the real story: BYD has collapsed the gap between hybrid and electric pricing to the point where the EV decision is more about tax and charging access than total cost. At some point, "price war" becomes "price conclusion."
What The Flash-Charging Pack Actually Delivers
The Sealion 05 EV is the cheapest BYD yet to ship with the second-generation Blade Battery and the megawatt flash-charging stack that the Han EV debuted a month ago. BYD reports a five-minute 10-to-90 percent charge on 1 MW stations. The usable number is the 630 km CLTC range, which translates to roughly 480 to 520 km of real-world highway range depending on climate. A 0-100 km/h of 5.9 seconds puts the Sealion 05 EV within a second of the base Model Y Long Range, at roughly 40 percent of the Tesla's Chinese price.
BYD also makes LiDAR plus urban navigate-on-autopilot (God's Eye B) available as an option on high trims. This is the first time BYD has offered that stack on a sub-20,000-USD vehicle. Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto all charge mid-range BEV money to get equivalent functionality.
The Sealion 05 lineup goes on sale at Chinese BYD dealers immediately. Export timing has not been announced, but BYD typically rolls new Ocean models into right-hand-drive markets within six months of the China launch.