Shark 6 is just the beginning! BYD model rush to see Tang seven-seat SUV, Ocean M GT hot hatch and Sealion 7 firm for Australia in 2025

October 30, 2024October 30, 2024 Bruce Newton 182 Views 0 Comments BYD, Ocean M, Sealion 7, Shark 6, Tang

The BYD Tang seven-seat SUV and Seal 06 GT electric hot hatch are surprise candidates to join the Sealion 7 SUV as BYD’s Australian distributor plans at last five new model launches in 2025.

Committed to stratospheric ongoing sales growth, EVDirect has also pencilled in an expansion into the commercial vehicle segment within a few years.

While the Sealion 7 Tesla Model Y fighter is now confirmed for a first quarter 2025 launch, the seven-seat SUV and the hot hatch are not yet locked down.

The latest update to one of BYD’s most long-standing names, the Tang SUV, is a strong candidate to be the seven-seat SUV coming to Australia.

“There are revisions of the Tang and we certainly want to get a seven-seat SUV at some time and that is quite a priority,” EVDirect CEO David Smitherman told EV Central.

“There is a desire [for a seven-seat SUV],” Smitherman added.

“SUV and ute are the big focus and then when we jump into that what we don’t have is a seven-seater. I would love to have a seven-seater.”

Seven seat electric SUVs are rare in Australia, with the expensive Kia EV9 and Mercedes-Benz EQB and EQS prominent among them.

The BYD Tang would undoubtedly undercut them by tens of thousands of dollars, just as the BYD Shark 6 Premium ute has rocked its rivals with its $57,900 starting price.

In China, the Tang is available as both an electric vehicle and a plug-in hybrid, which has just been updated to BYD’s latest fifth-generation DM-i 5.0 PHEV system.

It uses a 115kW 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, a 200kW electric system, a 20kW Blade battery pack and claims a 115km electric range, a 1150kmn combined range and a 4.95L/100km fuel consumption rate.

However, an all-new BYD flagship seven-seat SUV also launches soon in China as both a BEV and PHEV. It has been reported as the Tang L but could carry an entirely separate name instead.

This could also be the vehicle EVDirect is after, something Smitherman tacitly conceded.

“I don’t know if it would be called the Tang [for Australia],” he said. “I think it’s better to say we are just after a seven-seat vehicle.”

Whatever the vehicle is called, it would be positioned above the five-seat Sealion 6 which currently comes with fourth generation DM-i. The seven-seater would also most likely be a PHEV.

“[Powertrains] are being worked out,” Smitherman said, although he also clarified “DM-i is going to be a considerable focus going forward.”

Meanwhile, the Seal 06 GT – first revealed as the vibrant orange Ocean M at the Beijing show last April -is also being chased by the Australian distributor.

“It looked terrific and I met with the product people and said ‘absolutely that would be a massive success in Australia’,” Smitherman said.

But it remains a work in progress.

Offered in China as both rear-and all-wheel drive, the sleek five-door hatchback measures up at 4630mm long and has an acceleration time as low as 4.9 seconds.

So that’s three out of at least five prospective BYD arrivals in Australia in 2025, although Smitherman concedes there could be more.

“I think five is a modest number,” Smitherman said.

For 2025 EVDirect has targeted 50,000 total sales. That will be a little over double the number it expects to hit in 2024.

In 2026 it is aiming for a Mazda-challenging 100,000 sales and the number two slot in the market.

The Shark 6 PHEV ute – which launches in 2024 but doesn’t start deliveries until December at the earliest – is expected to be the the biggest volume player in 2025.

Meanwhile the Sealion 7 will also be a sizable contributor as BYD takes the fight directly to the Tesla Model Y.