New price leader for EVs! BYD Seagull looking good for Australia, could lower entry-point below $25,000
BYD could reset Australian electric vehicle pricing below $25,000 if it decides to import the Seagull electric city car.
Originally, the Seagull was ruled out by BYD distributor EVDirect because it couldn’t make the business case work.
But the swap to distribution by factory-owned BYD Australia has re-opened the local opportunity for the Seagull.
READ MORE: PHEV range war! BYD Sealion 6 responds to Chery, Geely, Haval, Jaecoo, MG and Mitsubishi with bigger battery and longer range
READ MORE: “We want to take it to the next level”: BYD boss previews major marketing and localisation push as Chinese brand aims to embed itself in Australia
READ MORE: “It’s going to be tough”: New BYD boss predicts some established auto brands will struggle to survive the Chinese onslaught in Australia
The BYD Dolphin Essential is currently Australia’s cheapest EV priced at $29,990 plus on-road costs.
Being even smaller and with a smaller battery, the Seagull would undoubtedly slot underneath it on price.
It’s just a question how low BYD Australia would go.
EV Central dealer sources have confirmed they are aware the Seagull is under study for Australia.
Some suggest it is basically a lock to come here, with pricing expected to start under $25,000.
Using the right-hand drive UK market Dolphin Surf as a guide, the cheapest version comes with a 30kWh battery and a 220km range.
Dubbed the Active, it also comes with vegan leather seat trim, a 10.1-inch rotating infotainment screen, navigation and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
There are two other models in the UK line-up, the Boost and Comfort, both uprating to a 43.2kWh battery and range of about 320km.
The top-spec Comfort also upgrades from a 65kW e-motor driving the front wheels to one producing 115kW.
The Seagull measures up at 3990mm long, 1870mm wide, 1590mm tall and has a 2500mm wheelbase.
It has four seats – no middle rear – and boot space is claimed to be 308 litres.
It is exactly 300mm shorter than the Dolphin, 245mm shorter than the recently update GWM Ora and 165mm longer the Hyundai Inster.
BYD Australia was positive about the Seagull but predictably non-committal about its local prospects.
“As of June, after just 27 months on sale, the model has surpassed one million sales globally,” a spokesperson stated in an email reply to question.
“While it has not yet been confirmed for Australia, there is clear interest both locally and internationally.
“The brand has consistently maintained that where there is appetite for a vehicle, we will explore opportunities to bring it to market, provided the proposition makes sense for customers.
“The Dolphin Essential is currently Australia’s most affordable EV, and with any new entrant, customers can expect exceptional value from the brand.”
One thing to note is that if the Seagull was signed off for Australia it would probably have a different name.
Depending on the export market it is also known as the Dolphin Surf, Dolphin Mini and Atto 1 (including Indonesia, from where these pics originate).
Atto is a name that has resonance in Australia. The Atto 3 SUV was the first BYD sold here and the smaller Atto 2 is confirmed to go on-sale in Australia this year.
Along with the Sealion 8 PHEV SUV due on-sale in Australia by April 2026, the Atto 2 makes up two of four new models BYD plans to have on-sale in Australia by early 2026.
Logically, given it is under investigation, the Seagull could be one of the other two.
Adding impetus to that theory, the Seagull was sampled by Australian journalists during a media trip to China earlier this year.
It’s up against the Kia Picanto, which is $19k.
The micro car segment sells 6000 cars a year.
If EVs make up 10% of sales, then BYD are looking at a market share of 600 cars.
I can’t see why people think this car will move the needle.
The petrol car equivalent is already cheaper, and they don’t sell a lot.
I see your point but I think there’s a good differentiation between the Picanto and Seagull. Kia won’t even submit the new Picanto for Ancap testing. The Suzuki swift submitted and got one star so I can only imagine how badly the Picanto would rate. The seagull won’t get 5 stars but it may get 4. The Picanto has a very high fuel consumption for such a tiny car (6 litres per 100 kilometres) so you will see the up front price difference back if you drive quite a bit. The Picanto’s tech is also very outdated. There’s no adaptive cruise control, only a rear view camera and the bottom model doesn’t even let you adjust the drivers seat height. The seagull should be packed with the equipment we expect. The Picanto also has quite a weak engine output. It’s 62 kilowatts versus the Seagull’s 115 (admittedly that’s the top model). That becomes quite a different car.
I think there’s both have their place but I do think the Seagull will sell well. There aren’t many cars left selling under 30K drive away so if they can do this for an EV then I think it could have large scale appeal.
Yes the Seagull would sell well. An EV with low running costs would tick all the boxes for a lot of people. I can see it capturing sales from used car market if priced low enough.
I will get either the Seagull or Geely Xingyuan for my mum next year when they come to Australia. We’ve had the Model Y for a while now and I can’t go back to a petrol car.
A BYD Seagull shaped 43kw V2H battery on wheels for $25000 would be amazing.
Would buy in an instant