The best Chinese electric vehicle yet? 2023 BYD Seal arrives in Australia to take on Tesla Model 3 Performance as countdown to launch continues

Chinese brand BYD's mission to take on Tesla is about to step up a gear, with the fire-breathing Seal electric vehicle spotted at the brand's Sydney dealership ahead of the launch of the Model 3-rivalling sedan.

The Seal will be the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive, BYD model in Australia, sitting well above the Atto 3 and Dolphin, the latter of which is the cheapest electric vehicle in the country.

That's not a label that will be able to be applied to the Seal, with the performance-focused EV to act as a flagship for the brand in Australia.

Spotted through the window of the soon-to-open BYD flagship in Alexandria, in inner Sydney, the model in question appears to be the flagship Seal, complete with 19-inch alloys and powerful rear- or all-wheel-drive configurations.

Both are equipped with BYD’s massive 82kWh Blade battery, which the brand says will provide a WLTP driving range of 570kms with the single motor, or 520kms with the more powerful dual-motor setup.

The Seal is also set up for 150kW fast charging (certainly not the highest figure available in modern EVs), which will see the battery climb from 30 to 80 percent charged in 26 minutes, when plugged into an appropriate DC fast charger.

Home charging takes longer, of course, but you do have the choice of 7kW or 11kW charging, though the latter requires three-phase power at home.

The Seal’s headline act is its power and performance, though. The RWD model produces 230kW and will accelerate to 100km/h in just 5.9 seconds. The AWD version is faster again, with 390kW and a run to 100km/h that takes just 3.8 seconds.

Inside, expect heated and cooled front seats, and a big 15.6-inch central screen that, like other BYD models, rotates from portrait to landscape.

The Seal will form a key rung in BYD’s plan to disrupt the global auto industry, with company executives recently calling on Chinese brands to “demolish the old legends”.

Order books for the Seal are expected to open either this month or next, and while pricing is yet to be confirmed, the brand has promised it will be competitive.