Second-generation BYD Seal 07 shows its cabin as China sales slide 37 per cent

What has been revealed, and when

The clearest new evidence on the second-generation BYD Seal 07 is its cabin. Spy photos shared on Weibo by user @朱行启同学 and reported by CarNewsChina on October 22, 2026 show an electronic shifter mounted in the steering column – replacing the outgoing model's circular crystal gear selector – behind a four-spoke, flat-bottom steering wheel. The revised centre console adds two angled wireless phone-charging pads, metallic toggle switches and integrated cupholders, while a digital instrument cluster sits behind the wheel and a dashboard recess appears intended for a windscreen head-up display. BYD has not confirmed the full equipment list. ¹

The interior reveal follows BYD's official exterior preview on September 28, when Zhang Zhuo, head of the company's Ocean sales division, shared details including split headlights, semi-hidden door handles and 19-inch wheels. Road-test photos also show a full-width rear light bar with a wave-like LED element and a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor. CarNewsChina notes the sensor alone does not confirm which driver-assistance system the sedan will use, although CarExpert reports it indicates BYD's 'God's Eye B' advanced driver-assistance system. The new car adopts BYD's 'Ocean Aesthetics 2.0' design language, aligning it visually with the larger Seal 08 sold in China. ¹²

The new model was first surfaced in August 2026, when CarExpert reported that Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology certification filings revealed a replacement for the current electric Seal 07 only five months after that car launched in March 2026. CarExpert later reported the second-generation Seal 07 had been officially unveiled in China in late September, following the unofficial certification-document reveal. ⁵²

Larger body, longer wheelbase

Chinese regulatory filings list the second-generation Seal 07 at 5080mm long, 1960mm wide and 1495mm tall on a 2960mm wheelbase. Compared with the current Seal 07 EV it replaces – which CarExpert lists at 4995mm long, 1910mm wide and 2900mm wheelbase – that is 85mm longer, 50mm wider and 60mm longer in wheelbase, with roof height unchanged. CarExpert reports the extra length and width liberate a more spacious cabin. ¹²

For context, CarExpert notes the new Seal 07 is 280mm longer than the Seal electric sedan sold in Australia and 240mm longer than the Seal 6 sedan and wagon, positioning it above both in BYD's sedan hierarchy should it reach local showrooms. ²³

Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains

CarNewsChina reports the filed battery-electric lineup comprises two rear-wheel-drive versions. The higher-powered variant produces 300kW (402hp) and uses an 88.682kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery rated at 875km under China's CLTC test cycle and 718km under WLTP. The lower-powered version produces 245kW (329hp), uses a 76.744kWh battery and has a maximum CLTC range of 775km, equivalent to 636km WLTP. Both versions have a listed top speed of 240km/h. CarExpert notes the 245kW entry-level version has not appeared in BYD's initial official reveal, only in the MIIT documents, and produces 5kW more than the current model. ¹²

The new Seal 07 DM-i plug-in hybrid pairs a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine rated at 115kW with a 160kW electric motor. Its 38.029kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery provides a listed electric-only range of 245km; CarNewsChina cites this under the WLTC cycle, while CarExpert initially reported the same 245km figure under the CLTC cycle in its August filing report. The plug-in hybrid's listed top speed is 190km/h. These are overseas-market figures; no Australian specifications have been published. ¹⁵

Buyers should note the range figures are China-market test-cycle claims for filed variants, not Australian specifications, and no pricing or launch date has been announced. The outgoing Seal 07 EV started at ¥169,900 (around A$35,700) in China, according to CarExpert, positioning it between the Mazda EZ-6 EV (from around ¥139,800) and the Tesla Model 3 (from ¥235,500) in that market. ¹⁵

Sales slump surrounds the replacement

The rapid renewal comes against weakening demand for the current car. CarNewsChina, citing China EV DataTracker's model-level figures, reports combined domestic sales of the Seal 07 EV and Seal 07 DM-i fell to 624 units in September 2026, down 37.3 per cent from 995 in August. The decline was concentrated in the plug-in hybrid: the Seal 07 DM-i recorded 296 sales in September, down 54.8 per cent month-on-month from August's 655 units and 83.4 per cent year-on-year, while the battery-electric Seal 07 EV accounted for 328 units, down 3.5 per cent from August's 340. ¹

The trajectory extends back through 2026. CarExpert reported in August, citing CarNewsChina, that the current Seal 07 recorded just 627 Chinese sales in June. In its September unveiling report, CarExpert noted the existing Seal 07 EV and PHEV recorded just over 1000 sales in China in August. CarExpert suggested the rapid replacement may be a response to weak demand, though BYD has not publicly attributed the new model's timing to sales performance. ⁵²

Australia: hinted but unconfirmed

BYD has not confirmed the second-generation Seal 07 for Australia. However, Australian government certification filings published in May 2026 suggest a plug-in hybrid Seal 7 could become BYD's second PHEV sedan in local showrooms, following the Seal 6, as CarExpert and Cars24 both report. BYD typically drops the zero from some Chinese-market model names for export markets, so the car could be badged Seal 7 locally, but no Australian pricing, specifications or launch timing have been announced. ²³⁵

In the current local lineup, the smaller battery-electric Seal has been on sale in Australia since late 2023 and remains BYD Australia's best-selling sedan, with 394 sales in July 2026 – almost double the Seal 6 sedan and wagon's combined 199 deliveries – per CarExpert. Both sat well behind the Sealion 7 electric SUV's 2548 July sales. The current Australian Seal range offers 150kW, 230kW and 390kW variants, priced from $51,342 to $67,092 drive-away according to CarExpert's showroom data. ⁵⁴

What remains unknown for Australia is the key open question: whether BYD brings the larger sedan here, in which form – EV, PHEV or both – and with what equipment, including whether the roof-mounted LiDAR and associated driver-assistance hardware would be carried over. Neither CarExpert nor Cars24 reports any confirmed local detail, and no manufacturer statement on Australian availability exists in the record. ²³