New 416bhp BYD Seal X hot hatch targets MG4 XPower and Cupra Born
The all-electric family hatchback produces between 215 and 416bhp, and is likely to make it to the UK
The BYD Ocean-M concept, with its enormous rear wing and eye-searing orange paint, got a lot of attention at the 2024 Beijing Motor Show. But now we’ve got our first look at the road-going version of the all-electric hot hatchback that produces up to 416bhp and could pose a serious threat to the Cupra Born if the Chinese carmaker brings it to the UK.
The details and images surfaced online after they were first published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The badging visible in some of the pictures suggests the family hatchback could be called the ‘BYD Seal X’, which is the most likely name for the car if it were launched in the UK. Not least because there’s a strong family resemblance with the BYD Seal saloon that arrived earlier this year, plus the BYD Seal U mid-size SUV that’s due very soon.
Like its siblings, the Seal X features a sleek nose design and large headlights, plus a subtly sculpted bonnet and lots of heavy creases along the sides. However, the Seal X has a much more aggressive bumper than the other two, and a unique rear light-bar pattern.
According to the MIIT filing, the Seal X measures 4,630mm long, 1,880mm wide and 1,490mm tall, which means the BYD is ever so slightly longer than its potential rival, the Cupra Born, plus nearly 70mm wider and sits about 50mm lower.
The very hottest version of the Seal X gets dual-motors that pump out 416bhp – just shy of the 426bhp in the MG4 XPower. However, it appears that there’ll be multiple battery and motor combinations offered, including single-motor models that produce 215bhp for regular folk.
While range and performance figures for the BYD Seal X remain under wraps, we know it uses lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery technology, just like the BYD Seal and Atto 3, and we expect it will also utilise BYD’s unique ‘blade’ battery design.
We expect the BYD Seal X will come to the UK at some point in the future, as it would be able to slot in between the brand’s Dolphin supermini and Seal saloon, but exactly when it’ll wash up on our shores hasn’t been confirmed. Rumours from Beijing suggested that the car will enter production later this year and have a starting price in China of around £22,000.
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