The BYD Song Plus Champion Edition will launch internationally as Seal U. It will make its official debut at Munich Motor Show in September, becoming a one more vehicle in the BYD’s model line for the European markets. As for the sales start, it will happen in late 2023 or early 2024. Let’s get to know it better.
BYD messy naming
Before we will crack on with the Song Plus Champion Edition’s overseas name, let’s talk about its positioning at the domestic market. In China, BYD sells two main series of vehicles: the first one it called Dynasty and the second is Ocean. Initially, the Dynasty series comprised all the cars that were named after some well-known Chinese dynasties. And the Ocean series comprised only cars with marine theme related names such as Dolphin, Seal, Frigate, Destroyer, Seagull, etc.
However, BYD has recently got messy with those series as some of the Dynasty cars have moved to the Ocean line. And the BYD Song Champion Edition became one of them. So, the car with a name of one of the greatest Chinese dynasties isn’t in the Dynasty line anymore. Worth mentioning that previously there were rumors that BYD will call this vehicle “Frigate 05”. They have even applied for this trademark and showed it in the MIIT announcements. But in the end, they have come up with the Song Plus Champion Edition name.
Song Plus Champion Edition international name
The BYD’s naming continues to be complicated in the overseas market. BYD has officially disclosed the Song Plus Champion Edition will sell internationally as Seal U. So, now it looks like BYD tries to launch the Seal series with the Seal EV, the Seal DM-i, and the Seal U. It is a real rookery now. As we have pointed out earlier, BYD has providently got rid of any Song (宋) hieroglyphs in the domestic version of the Song Plus Champion Edition. So, it was pretty easy for them to make the international variant of this vehicle.
In terms of styling, we can see that the Seal U stays in line with the Song Plus Champion Edition EV. So, it is an all-electric vehicle with a closed grille, sharp triangular headlights, a sloped bonnet line and a single taillight unit. The exact dimensions of the Seal U are 4785/1890/1660 mm with a wheelbase of 2765 mm. The car in the shots is finished in a color that is called “天青蓝” (Azure Blue) in China. On the back, the Seal U hasn’t got the “Build Your Dreams” inscription.
Inside, the Seal U is also quite similar to the Song Plus Champion Edition. It has the same 15.6-inch floating rotatable screen, an LCD instrument panel, a three-spoke steering wheel, and a retractable gear selector. But there is one noticeable change. And it is the interior color. It is finished in a black shade, while the domestic version has only Gray-Blue color scheme. So, the Seal U has turned into a mature SUV.
BYD Seal U specs and market launch date
As mentioned, the Seal U is an all electric SUV. It stands on the BYD’s e-platform 3.0. We have already covered the dimensions of the Seal U. And now it’s time to speak about its powertrain. It has two options. The first one has a 71-kWh LFP battery on board for 520 km of range. It powers the 204-hp electric motor. The second version has a bigger LFP battery pack for 87 kWh, goof for 605 km of range. It is paired with a 218-hp e-motor. Just like the Song Plus Champion Edition, the Seal U is equipped with a DiLink system and two-zone climate control.
The Seal U will make its live debut at the Munich Motor Show in September this year. As for the market launch, it can hit overseas markets in late 2023 or early 2024. We will keep an eye on this vehicle, so stay tuned!
Source: BYD
Good thoughts. BYD has “lost it” when it come to naming their different models. You mention that they will call this car SEAL U – internationally. But where is that? Internationally – can’t be Europe then, or Australia, or many other places, as BYD Seal those places will be called ATTO 4 as far as I have registered? So perhaps this car will be BYD ATTO 4U? BYD 4U?
Someone should help BYD reorganize their system of names and harmonize the national and internationally naming. Can’t be that difficult, when the Chinese understand Song, Seal, Dolphin (Atto 2?), Plus and minus??
BYD calls it the Seal in Australia. I’m not sure it ended up being called “Atto 4” anywhere in the end.
It’s called the Seal in Europe too.
It looks like they abandoned the “Atto” naming after the Atto 3. The Dolphin came out as “Dolphin” in all markets.