BYD has put the second-generation Seagull on sale in China, the first full model change for the city hatchback since its 2023 debut. Five versions are offered at 65,900 to 99,900 yuan, falling to 62,900 to 96,900 yuan once a 3,000-yuan trade-in subsidy is applied.
Photo: JustAnotherCarDesigner / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
From four seats to five
The biggest change is size. Length grows by 425 mm to 4,205 mm, the wheelbase stretches by 150 mm to 2,650 mm, and width and height are now 1,810 mm and 1,570 mm. That is enough to move the Seagull from a four-seat micro car into the A0 segment with a standard five-seat layout.
- Body: 4,205 x 1,810 x 1,570 mm, wheelbase 2,650 mm
- Front trunk: 94 litres, enough for a 20-inch suitcase
- Boot: 380 litres, expanding to 1,380 litres with the rear seats folded
Rear-wheel drive and independent rear suspension
Underneath, the Seagull switches from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, and the rear torsion beam gives way to a multi-link independent setup. The drive motor jumps from 55 kW to 95 kW and top speed is 150 km/h. Despite the longer body, the minimum turning radius is still 4.95 metres, so city manoeuvrability is not sacrificed.
Flash charging reaches the smallest BYD
The Seagull is now the smallest model in the BYD range to get the brand's flash-charging technology. On 420 km CLTC versions, a charge goes from 10 to 70 per cent in five minutes and to 97 per cent in nine minutes, and BYD says a minus-30-degree-celsius environment adds only about three minutes. There are already 12,165 BYD flash-charge stations in operation, with 20,000 targeted by the end of the year, and owners of flash-charge versions receive twelve months of free charging.
Photo: JustAnotherCarDesigner / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Lidar on a sub-100,000-yuan hatchback
The top Zhiqu version carries BYD's God's Eye B lidar-based assistance suite, supporting city pilot and highway pilot as well as full-scene automated parking, backed by a one-year safety commitment on those functions. Every version gets the DiLink 150 cockpit with a 15.6-inch central screen, plus sentry mode, a 360-degree camera, autonomous emergency braking and a high-speed tyre-burst stability system rated to 140 km/h.
Buyers should note the grading: the three 420 km versions get flash charging, while the two entry versions run a 320 km CLTC battery and ship with a 7 kW home wallbox instead, and lidar-assisted driving is limited to the flagship trim rather than being offered across the range.
A million-seller looking for a second act
Since going on sale in 2023, the Seagull has passed 1.55 million cumulative units, one of the fastest pure-electric nameplates globally to clear one million. The repositioning towards family use, rather than pure single-person commuting, is the clearest signal that BYD wants a second act rather than just a facelift.