After the announcement made in recent months, BYD’s offensive on the European market is ready to begin. From the second half of the year, the Chinese brand will land also in Italy with a rather wide and diversified range of models, all 100% electric, starting with the compact SUV Atto3, which will be followed by the Han sedan and the large SUV Tang. The Seal medium sedan and the compact Dolphin will complete BYD’s Italian line-up. Precisely these last two models were the protagonists of the Spring-E event in Barcelona, during which the most recent works of the team of Wolfgang Egger, head of brand design, were on display.
The Seal is a 4.8-metre car that aims to counter the dominance of the Tesla Model 3 in the zero-emission sedan segment. The lines of the bodywork have been drawn following the most recent stylistic course of the Chinese manufacturer but here, compared to the larger Han, the designers’ pencil generated shapes that give the car a sportier look. A character that is expressed above all in the descending shape of the front hood which visually lowers the profile of the car and, at the rear, in the presence of a rather pronounced extractor. But it’s in the Seal’s interiors that you notice that the Model 3 represented the benchmark in the design phase: the level of perceived quality is very high, emphasized not only by the careful choice of all the materials used for the upholstery, but also the attention with which these have been installed in the cabin. There’s plenty of space on board, especially for those sitting behind, ensured by Cell-to-Body technology in which the battery is a structural part of the car. The large 15.6″ screen of the infotainment system that rotates in vertical or horizontal position is very spectacular (and functional), as it is the large panoramic Skyview roof.
The Dolphin, on the other hand, will represent the entry-level model of the range: 4.29 long, it focuses on lines which, as the name suggests, are inspired by the body of dolphins. At the front, the scene is dominated by the large grille on which the brand logo stands out and which incorporates the light clusters with LED technology. The C-pillar is black, to lighten the lines of the rear of the car, where the “coast to coast” light clusters, also with LEDs, stand out. In the interior, the materials are simpler than those of the Seal: the dashboard and door panels are more rigid, but overall the design, which focuses on soft and rounded lines, remains pleasant. Unmissable, here too, is the presence of the infotainment system capable of rotating on itself. From a technical point of view, the Dolphin uses a 60-kWh battery which ensures a range of 427 km, while the battery of the Seal reaches 82 kWh, for a range of 570 km.
