BYD's Sealion 08 goes on sale in China as the Ocean lineup's second flagship

BYD has put the Sealion 08 on sale in China, a mid-to-large SUV that slots in as the Ocean lineup's second flagship after the Seal 08 sedan bowed in early July. Eight variants cover battery-electric and DM-i plug-in hybrid powertrains, with 5- and 6-seat layouts and prices spanning 229,900 to 279,900 yuan ($33,890 at the low end).

Under the CLTC cycle, the rear-wheel-drive BEV manages 900 km of range and the all-wheel-drive version 800 km from a 115.072-kWh pack, while the plug-in hybrid pairs a 55.843-kWh battery with a combined 1,650 km on a full tank and charge, plus 4.6 L/100 km of NEDC fuel use with a depleted battery. Every trim carries the second-generation Blade Battery and flash charging, said to refill from 10 to 70 percent in five minutes and to 97 percent within nine.

Styling follows Ocean Aesthetics 2.0 on a 5,115-mm body with a 3,030-mm wheelbase. The BEV's rear motor is rated at 370 kW (496 hp), matched by a 215-kW front unit on AWD cars, and hardware spans the DiSus-A body-control system, dual-chamber air suspension and active rear-wheel steering for a 4.95-meter turning radius. God's Eye B assistance built on the God's Eye 5.0 stack is standard, as are a 17.3-inch center screen, a 26-inch AR head-up display and a 21.4-inch rear entertainment screen; the 5-seat layout yields 943 liters of trunk space plus a 201-liter powered frunk.

The SUV lands in a fiercely contested family-NEV segment against rivals like the Xpeng G9L and GWM's Wey V8X, and forms part of BYD's push to lift its core marque upmarket alongside Denza and Fang Cheng Bao. Timing matters: Sealion series deliveries fell 8.86 percent year-on-year to 48,559 in August, though the series remains up roughly 26 percent for the year at 275,974 units through August, accounting for 10.34 percent of BYD Group's total sales in that span.