Having teased its next model for the better part of a week now, BYD Malaysia has released the first image of the car – the taillights of what appears to be a small sedan. At first glance, this looks to be the Seal 06 EV that was rumoured previously, but a few details are amiss.
For one, instead of the lamps being sleek quad L-shaped items, we instead have more angular trapezoidal graphics, similar to the “infinity” lights on the new Atto 2. You can also just about make out the pronounced X-shaped design for the rear bumper, taking the place of a large diffuser on the Seal 06 EV. There’s only one BYD electric sedan that has these lights and bumper, and it’s the Qin L EV launched in China in March.
Surprised? Us too. After all, BYD Malaysia has already announced that the four-door will have a “6” in the name, suggesting that it will carry the Seal 6 EV name – following in the footsteps of the Seal 5 (called Destroyer in China) and Seal 6 (née Seal 06) DM-i plug-in hybrids already offered in other markets. That would lead credence to the Seal 06 EV getting the export treatment, rather than the Qin L EV which is part of the Dynasty (instead of Ocean) range. Confusing, isn’t it?
Then again, the Qin L EV has been hiding in plain sight in ASEAN for a while now. Cast your mind back to March, when the Atto 2 was spied in Thailand ahead of its launch – a camouflaged prototype of the sedan was actually spotted next to the entry-level SUV, but we didn’t think much of it at the time. By the way, Malaysia looks set to be the first export market for the Qin L EV, as it has not been shown outside China yet.
Despite the different names and unique designs, however, the Qin L EV and the Seal 06 EV are practically identical underneath. Both are built on the same e-Platform 3.0 Evo and are powered by a single rear motor producing 150 PS (110 kW) and 220 Nm of torque. A 46.08 kWh Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery delivers a range of 470 km on China’s very lenient CLTC cycle; expect a WLTP figure of around 380 km.
The long range variant adds a more powerful motor pushing out 218 PS (160 kW) and 330 Nm, as well as a larger 56.64 kWh battery providing a CLTC range of 545 km (circa 430 km WLTP). The smaller pack can DC fast charge at up to 84 kW, the larger unit at up to 103 kW; both can be topped up from 30 to 80% in 24 minutes. Unfortunately, AC charging power is limited to just 7 kW, although both variants do also feature vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality at up to 6 kW.
Not only are the Qin L EV and Seal 06 EV indistinguishable under the skin, but even their dimensions are the same. Both measure 4,720 mm long, 1,880 mm wide and 1,495 mm tall and have a wheelbase spanning 2,820 mm – just 80 mm shorter than the full-sized Seal. As per that Seal, the rear motor frees up space at the front for a separate boot.
Aside from the taillights and rear bumper design (something that’s mirrored at the front), the Qin L EV is differentiated visually through a full-width silver bar joining the slim LED headlights, less sculpted flanks with a black strip and full glass rear quarter windows rather than the Seal 06 EV’s odd half body-coloured items.
Befitting its status as a Dynasty model, the Qin L EV gets a cleaner, less organic interior design, the dashboard being dominated by a flat, full-width gloss black panel. It also ditches the Seal 06 EV’s discrete gear selector in favour of the Atto 2’s steering column-mounted stalk.
This frees up more space on the centre console for storage that includes dual smartphone holders (including one 50-watt Qi wireless charger), dual cupholders and an optional fridge under the front armrest. Also taken from the Atto 2 is the more sober three-spoke steering wheel design.
As is usual for the latest BYD models, the Qin L EV comes with the brand’s ubiquitous screens, including an 8.8-inch digital instrument display and a 12.8- or 15.6-inch rotatable infotainment touchscreen. Other features include six- or eight-speaker sound systems, power-adjustable front seats with heating, ventilation and driver’s side memory, a panoramic glass roof with powered sunshade and optional DiSus-C adaptive dampers (only recently added to the Seal).
One more variable concerns the price. The Qin L EV…sorry, the Seal 6 EV should be cheaper than the full-fat Seal (which starts at RM171,800), given its lower positioning and power outputs. However, it’s not much smaller and has nearly the same amount of tech, so we can’t imagine it costing much less than RM150,000. Then again, BYD is known to price its lower-end cars aggressively, so who knows?
GALLERY: BYD Qin L EV in China
