New BYD Seal 07 will get a Blade 2 battery. generation, according to the manufacturer it will fully charge in just 9 minutes

BYD opened reservations in China for the second generation Seal 07 sedan, just half a year after the first electric Seal 07 was launched in March. The new model grew to 5.08 meters, gets the second-generation Blade battery with fast charging and magnetorheological damping for the chassis. BYD has not announced the price yet.

Blind reservation, but with priority for delivery

BYD announced the reservations via Weibo by Zhang Chuo, who leads the sales of the Ocean lineup models, and according to the portal CnEVPost this is a so-called blind reservation, since the pre-sale price is not known yet. Anyone who reserves the car will receive it, according to an official poster, preferentially from production, and they’ll get the deposit back if they change their mind before confirming the order.

The reservation is just an expression of interest, so the customer can still change the color and equipment after the launch. BYD also adds gifts when picking up the car. The company showed the exterior on 28. September and the interior on 23. October.

Bigger sedan in the Seal 08 style

The second generation measures 5 080 mm in length, 1 960 mm in width and 1 495 mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 2 960 mm. Compared to the March Seal 07 EV, it’s 85 mm longer and the wheelbase is 60 mm bigger, so there should be more space in the back.

The design follows the Ocean Aesthetics 2.0 line and resembles a larger Seal 08. Customers can choose from six body colors and three interior color combinations.

The car in the official shots has LiDAR on the roof, but BYD did not comment on assisted systems or which versions will get it.

Charged in 9 minutes and stronger motors

The main new feature is the second-generation Blade battery with fast charging, which BYD promotes with the slogan “ready in 5 minutes, full in 9 minutes”. The battery capacity or range hasn’t been disclosed yet.

From documents BYD filed with the Chinese Ministry of Industry (MIIT), it follows that the electric version will get a motor with an output of 245 kW (329 hp) or 300 kW, while the March model had 240 kW. The documents also list a plug-in hybrid Seal 07 DM-i. It has a turbocharged 1.5-liter engine, an electric motor rated at 160 kW, and a 38 kWh battery that provides 245 km on electricity according to the WLTC cycle. However, the latest poster doesn’t show the hybrid.

Massage seats, Devialet and two suitcases

Inside, there are front seats with “zero gravity” positioning, massage, ventilation and heating, and 20 Devialet speakers take care of the sound. The trunk has a volume of 618 liters, and under the front hood there’s another 160-liter compartment.

The chassis has a trapezoidal front axle, a reinforced five-link suspension at the rear, and a DiSus-M system that dampens using magnetorheological fluid, so stiffness can be changed in a fraction of a second depending on the road surface. The car will also get a new version of the Smart Ecosystem 2.0 system.

Seal is losing sales

The electric Seal 07 from March cost 169 900 yuan (around €22 800) or 189 900 yuan (around €25 400) in China, and the new generation arrives at a time when sales of the entire Seal lineup are declining. According to CnEVPost, in September 46,718 Seal cars were sold, 9% fewer than a year earlier. In the first nine months, that was 304,723, 14% down year-on-year.

In Slovakia BYD sells the electric sedan Seal and the hybrid Seal 6 DM-i Touring, but the Seal 07 is not available here and the automaker has nothing to say about a European version of the second generation yet. The Chinese price is also only indicative, as a car imported to Europe will be subject to customs duty (clo) and VAT.

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