The Seal 06 GT, the production version of the Ocean-M concept, has already gone on pre-sale on August 30 at a price range of RMB 150,000 ($21,370) to RMB 200,000.

BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) will formally launch the Seal 06 GT on October 18, after making the model's debut on August 30.

Zhang Zhuo, the new energy vehicle (NEV) maker's head of sales for the Ocean series, revealed the date in a Weibo video today, saying that more information, including detailed specifications for the model, will be announced on the day of the launch.

BYD began accepting reservations for the Seal 06 GT on August 30, the first day of this year's Chengdu auto show, without mentioning which variants it would be available in, offering only a price range of RMB 150,000 ($21,370) to RMB 200,000.

The Seal 06 GT will be the first GT (Grand Tourer) model for young people, and the industry's first rear-drive, all-electric performance hatchback, BYD previously said.

The car -- a production version of the Ocean-M concept unveiled at the Beijing auto show in late April -- is based on BYD's latest all-electric platform, the e-Platform 3.0 Evo, and measures 4,630 mm in length, 1,880 mm in width and 1,490 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,820 mm.

BYD seems to want the Seal 06 GT to be an electric version of the Golf GTI -- one of Volkswagen's most iconic models and one that is known for its sportiness and easy handling.

The Seal 06 GT is available with single motor and a dual-motor options, with the dual-motor version having front and rear motors of 110 kW and 200 kW respectively.

The car is built on an 800 V silicon carbide high-voltage platform and can be charged from 30 percent to 80 percent in 20 minutes, BYD previously said.

BYD as a group owns different brands including BYD, Denza, Yangwang and Fang Cheng Bao.

Models under the BYD brand are categorized into the Ocean Series, which is named mainly after sea creatures and ships, and the Dynasty series, which is named mainly after Chinese historical dynasties.

The Ocean series sold 194,099 vehicles in September, up 38.8 percent year-on-year and up 10.98 percent from August, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

In the January-September period, BYD's Ocean series sold 1,263,442 vehicles, up 56.24 percent year-on-year.

The company's Dynasty series sold 204,605 vehicles in September, up 52.91 percent year-on-year and up 14.92 percent from August.

In the January-September period, BYD's Dynasty series sold 1,337,472 vehicles, up 14.45 percent year-on-year.

The first model in the Seal lineup was the all-electric Seal sedan, and the array has now expanded to also include the Seal DM-i, Seal 06 DM-i, and Seal 07 DM-i.

($1 = RMB 7.0185)

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