The Sealion will become BYD's SUV series for the Ocean lineup, with the Sealion 05 debuting next year, and more models including the Sealion 06 coming in the future, an executive said.

(Image credit: BYD)

BYD's (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) Sealion 07 battery electric vehicle (BEV), which was unveiled at the Guangzhou auto show, will go on sale and begin deliveries in the first half of next year, a company executive said.

Sealion will become the SUV model series of BYD's Ocean lineup, with Sealion 05 to be unveiled next year and future models including Sealion 06, Zhang Zhuo, general manager of BYD's Ocean lineup sales division, said in an interview with local media outlet Dongchedi, according to the text of the interview released yesterday.

BYD unveiled the Sealion 07 on the first day of the Guangzhou auto show on November 17, the first model in the Sealion series and the first midsize all-electric SUV in BYD's Ocean series.

BYD's models include the Dynasty series, which is named after dynasties in Chinese history, including the Han, Tang, Qin, Song, and Yuan, and the Ocean series, which is named after sea creatures and ships, such as the Dolphin, Seal, and Chaser 05.

TheSealion 07 is based on BYD's all-electric e-Platform 3.0 platform, created by the team of Wolfgang Josef Egger, the company's global design director.

The Sealion array will further expand BYD's Ocean range matrix and strengthen the range's presence in the high-value product segment, BYD said on Friday.

In the future, the SUV models of the Ocean series will be integrated into the Sealion array, and the sedan models will be integrated into the Seal array, forming a twin-star strategy, BYD said.

The Sealion 07 BEV will have a price range of RMB 200,000 ($27,830) to RMB 260,000, and deliveries can start soon after its launch in the first half of next year, Zhang said.

In addition to BEVs, the Sealion array of models will also include hybrids equipped with BYD's DM-i technology, according to Zhang.

In 2024, three more new models will hit the market in BYD's Ocean lineup, including an A+ class model, an A class car, and a compact all-electric model, he said.

Competition in China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market will become more intense in 2024, and BYD will use its scale to prepare for that, Zhang said.

($1 = RMB 7.1872)

BYD adds Sea Lion series to its model lineup, Sea Lion 07 makes debut