BYD will launch the Sealion 08 on September 2, completing the pair of flagship models at the top of its Ocean lineup. Pre-sale pricing runs from 230,000 to 280,000 yuan, roughly $33,900 to $41,300, and the specification sheet is the more interesting half of the announcement.
The SUV debuted at the Beijing Auto Show in April and opened for pre-order on August 13. It is currently on public display at the Chengdu Auto Show. Local outlet Auto Home reported the launch date after BYD disclosed it through an official channel, though the company had not posted it to social media as of publication.
Two Powertrains, And One Of Them Is Unusual
The Sealion 08 comes as a battery-electric vehicle or as a DM-i plug-in hybrid. The plug-in variants are priced from 230,000 to 260,000 yuan, the electric ones from 250,000 to 280,000 yuan.
The electric version uses battery packs of 92.093 kWh and 115.072 kWh, quoted at CLTC ranges of 710, 800 and 900 kilometers. Single-motor variants make 320 kW or 370 kW. The dual-motor version pairs a 215 kW front motor with a 370 kW rear motor.
The plug-in hybrid runs a dedicated 1.5-liter turbocharged engine rated at 115 kW, with a single-motor variant at 200 kW and a dual-motor version using 200 kW at each axle. Its battery-only figures are 275 and 300 kilometers on WLTC, and up to 400 kilometers on CLTC.
That last number is worth sitting with. The plug-in hybrid's 400-kilometer electric-only CLTC range is longer than the total range of several cars currently sold as electric vehicles.
The Hardware List Reads Like A Segment Above
At 5,115 mm long, 1,999 mm wide and 1,800 mm tall, on a 3,030 mm wheelbase, the Sealion 08 sits in mid-to-large SUV territory. Every variant gets the second-generation Blade Battery, cell-to-body integration, flash charging and the fifth-generation DM hybrid system.
The chassis equipment is where the pricing starts to look aggressive. Rear-wheel steering, the DiSus-A intelligent body control system, dual-chamber air suspension and a road-preview system are all on the list, along with the God's Eye 5.0 driver-assistance suite.
Air suspension and rear-axle steering on a five-meter SUV starting near $34,000 is the part of this launch that European and American buyers will find hardest to place. Those are features that arrive, elsewhere, on options lists priced in five figures.
Where It Sits In The Lineup
The Sealion 08 is the second of the Ocean lineup's two flagships. Its sister model, the Seal 08 sedan, launched on July 2 starting at 196,900 yuan. The Sealion series has been one of BYD's fastest-growing product lines, which is the commercial logic for putting the flagship SUV badge on it rather than somewhere else in the portfolio.
My Read
The specification is not the news. BYD has been shipping this class of hardware for a while, and the second-generation Blade Battery and fifth-generation DM system have both been in the market long enough to stop being announcements.
What the Sealion 08 does is compress the gap between BYD's mainstream and its flagship tier to almost nothing. A 900-kilometer electric variant and a plug-in with 400 kilometers of electric range, sharing a chassis with air suspension and rear-wheel steering, is a package that would have carried a premium badge three years ago.
Pricing at launch on September 2 is the number that matters. Pre-sale ranges tend to move, and BYD has a habit of landing below its own indications.