Buffett-backed BYD leaks the specs of its Model 3 competitor Seal with innovative blade battery
China's carmaker BYD which Warren Buffett bought a stake in many moons ago is now riding the green mobility revolution by becoming the largest electric vehicle manufacturer there. The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released its periodic catalog of new EV models, and it reveals that the rumored Tesla Model 3 competitor - the affordable BYD Seal - is real, and some of its specs have now been revealed. The car resembles the Ocean-X concept platform that BYD revealed back in September and said at the time it will be used for its smaller and more affordable electric sedan. According to the regulatory filing, the Seal will be released in three different versions with length, width and height dimensions being 4,800 mm, 1,875 mm, and 1,460 mm, respectively, while the wheelbase distance is pegged at 2,920 mm.
Those dimensions reveal that the BYD Seal will be an EV that is quite a bit smaller than its flagship Han electric sedan, just like the Model 3 is more compact compared to Tesla's flagship Model S, for instance. The Tesla Model 3 is exactly the car that BYD will be targeting with the Seal, as its prices will start from the equivalent of US$34,710, while the China-made Model 3 starts at US$41,736 there. The three different Seal versions will have single or dual-motor configurations with up to 230 kW of peak power, and will weigh 1,885 kg, 2,015 kg, and 2,150 kg. Those weights depend on the number and size of the motors as well as the battery packs, and the Seal will be powered by BYD's tough and space-saving blade battery technology that Elon Musk also wanted a piece of at one point.
