BYD launched the second-generation Seagull in China on Tuesday at a starting price of 65,900 yuan ($9,900), 4,000 yuan below the outgoing model, as the entry-level model grows into a five-seater with flash charging and an optional LiDAR.
The car giant unveiled the car at the Zhengzhou International Circuit in Henan province, where it offered five versions priced up to 99,900 yuan ($14,900).
BYD opened blind pre-orders on October 9 without disclosing prices, Zhang Zhuo, general manager of BYD’s Ocean Network sales division, said at the time.
The company has not said whether the second-generation Seagull will be sold in Europe or other markets outside China. The first-generation Seagull is sold in Europe as the Dolphin Surf.
Five Trims, Two Ranges
The two entry versions, Vitality and Freedom, cost 65,900 yuan and 72,900 yuan ($9,900) and offer a CLTC range of 320 km.
The three flash-charging versions, Comfort, Flying and Smart, are priced at 75,900 yuan ($11,400), 82,900 yuan ($12,400) and 99,900 yuan, with a 420 km CLTC range.
A limited-time trade-in offer cuts 3,000 yuan from each version, bringing the range to 62,900 to 96,900 yuan ($9,400 to $14,500).
The new entry price is 4,000 yuan below the 69,900 yuan at which the 2026 Seagull started when it launched in May.
It is also 7,900 yuan below the 73,800 yuan at which BYD launched the original Seagull in April 2023.
Bigger and Rear-Driven
The new Seagull measures 4,205 mm long, 1,810 mm wide and 1,570 mm tall on a 2,650 mm wheelbase, according to a filing in the 409th batch of new-product notices from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
That makes it 425 mm longer, 95 mm wider and 30 mm taller than the 3,780 mm outgoing model, with a 150 mm longer wheelbase.
The longer body takes the Seagull from four seats to five and adds a 94-liter front trunk, while rear cargo space ranges from 380 liters to 1,380 liters with the rear seats folded.
The car switches from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive and replaces the torsion-beam rear suspension with a multi-link independent setup.
The MIIT filing listed a permanent magnet synchronous motor made by Zhengzhou BYD Automobile with a peak output of 95 kW and a top speed of 150 km/h, up from 55 kW and 130 km/h in the outgoing model.
Batteries and Flash Charging
Autohome lists battery packs of 30.1 kWh for the 320 km versions and 39.2 kWh for the 420 km versions, up from 30.08 kWh and 38.88 kWh in the 2026 model.
The MIIT filing showed lithium iron phosphate batteries supplied by BYD’s FinDreams battery unit, with curb weights of 1,180 kg and 1,255 kg for the two filed versions.
The three 420 km versions support BYD’s flash charging, which can take the battery from 10% to 70% in five minutes at dedicated stations, IT Home reported.
“Starting today, every purchase comes with 12 months of free flash charging, with no limit on electricity,” Zhang said at the event.
He said BYD had built 12,165 flash charging stations as of Tuesday and plans to reach 20,000 by the end of the year.
Buyers of the two 320 km versions instead get a 7 kW home charger with free installation within two years of delivery.
God’s Eye With LiDAR
Higher-spec versions can be fitted with a LiDAR sensor and BYD’s God’s Eye B driver-assistance system, also called DiPilot 300, which supports highway and city navigation and automated parking.
God’s Eye C comes standard across the range.
BYD covers losses from accidents caused by its smart parking and, for one year, its city navigation feature.
Inside, the Seagull drops its separate instrument display and features a 15.6-inch central screen running BYD’s DiLink 150 system.
A Key Model for BYD
BYD sold 38,650 Seagulls in September and 265,901 in the first nine months of 2026, according to the company’s monthly model breakdown.
September sales rose 11.75% from 34,586 a year earlier, while the nine-month total fell 33.2% from 398,200 in the same period of 2025.
The Seagull sold 479,294 units in 2024, its first full year on sale, according to the same figures.
The Seagull sold 529,537 units in 2025, which means its 2026 total through September stands at 50.2% of last year’s volume.
The Seagull accounted for 14.2% of the 273,143 battery electric passenger cars BYD sold in September, and 8.5% of its 456,713 total passenger car sales, according to BYD’s monthly data.
Its share of BYD’s battery electric sales stood at 16.3% in the first nine months of 2026, down from 24.8% a year earlier.
BYD sold 1,629,957 battery electric passenger cars in the first nine months, up 1.5% from a year earlier, while plug-in hybrid sales fell 10.2% to 1,448,587.
Excluding the Seagull, its fully electric sales rose 12.9% to 1,364,056 over the period.
Total passenger car sales fell 4.4% to 3,078,544 in the first nine months, even as September rose 16.2% from 393,060 a year earlier on a 33.2% jump in fully electric sales.
In 2025, the Seagull made up 23.5% of BYD’s 2,256,714 battery electric passenger car sales.
The new model arrives as BYD’s home market weakens: its domestic retail sales fell 28.9% from a year earlier to 246,816 in September, China Passenger Car Association data show.
BYD still led the ranking with a 22.8% share of China’s new energy vehicle retail market.
