BYD Launches the 3rd Model in Japan, Seal EV Sedan

BYD Seal EV Launch in Japan at a Starting price of 5.28 million yen

China’s NEV giant BYD launched its Seal EV in the Japanese car market on June 25. The Seal EV offers two models, a single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual motor all-wheel drive, which cost 5.28 million yen ($33,140) and 6.05 million yen respectively.

That price is similar to the Tesla Model 3, which is very high, comparing to the starting price of the Seal EV in China for only ¥179,800 (∼3.95 million yen). Word has it this is a result of the Japanese government’s reduction of subsidies for BYD electric vehicles.

Seal EV: Where Power Meets Range

Let’s check out what power configurations for Seals EV in Japan. It’s reported that It’s reported that the two options are single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual motor all-wheel drive, which both contain 82.56 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack, and offer WLTC range about 575 km and 640 km, respectively.

Why BYD is Expanding into Japan?

If you look around look around the global automotive market, you’ll find out that Japanese car market is not really an easy one for foreign brands. In the past two decades, only 8% of cars sold there belonged to non-Japanese brands.

Since 2022, BYD has introduced two electric cars in Japan, Atto 3 and Dolphin EV. In Japan the current selling price for Atto 3 is approximately 4.5 million yen, while Dolphin EV 3.63 million yen.

In terms of sales volume last year, BYD managed to sell more than 1300 units in Japan, and Tesla sold 5000 units for reference. This is quite an achievement for BYD, which was almost unheard of in the Japanese market. It is obvious that BYD faces enormous challenges as well as has tremendous potential.