Real world pictures of the BYD Seal 06 DM-I have been exposed on the Internet. Utilizing BYD’s new fifth generation plugin hybrid technology the car is expected to launch at the end of this month.

The Seal originally launched as an all-electric car in the Ocean series in 2022. With the Seal 06 DM-I it is a PHEV which is meant be positioned between the Destroyer 05 and Seal DM-I. It comes in considerably smaller than the Seal DM-i but marginally bigger than the all-electric Seal. Length of the Seal 06 DM-I is 4830 mm compared to 4800mm  for the fully electric Seal and 4980 mm for the Seal DM-i The wheelbase is however considerably shorter than either at 2790 mm. Width of 1875 mm is the same as the original Seal but narrower than the Seal DM-i. Height however is the same at the other PHEV Seal at 1495 mm but much taller than the EV’s 1460 mm.

Confused, we sure are. Now if you compare all that to the new Qin L which is right now arriving at dealers you’ll find the only dimensions that differs between it at the Seal 06 DM-I is the width which is 15 mm narrower than the Qin L.

Look inside the car and you’ll also see it’s largely the same at the Qin L. There’s an 8.8-inch instrument cluster and a center screen. All models gets six airbags and a mobile phone NFC key. On higher spec models the center screen is 15.6-inches and can rotate along with the car having heating and ventilation for the front seats.

Powertrain again is pretty much the same as with the Qin L. There is a 1.5 litre engine providing 74 kW of power. Electric motor power according to spec level will be either 120 or 160 kW peak power. Similarly the choice of battery pack size is the same at 10.08 and 15.874 kWh. However, when it gets to range this is where things start getting strange. According to Fast Technology the figures are 80 and 120 km (CLTC) respectively for the two packs, however in the Qin L the ranges are meant to be 60 and 90 km respectively.

Currently prices are expected to range between 120,000 and 150,000 yuan. And yes if you hadn’t guessed it that is pretty much the same price as expected for the Qin L.

Editor’s note:

Would the real Qin L please edge forward. The Seal 06 DM-i seems to be little more than a narrower version of the Qin L and other than name and styling doesn’t have much in common with the actual Seal.

BYD seems to be out of control with the number of different models it has along with the naming of them. There are now three Seal cars but they are all actually different cars on different platforms, linked only by styling. Then there’s the  situation with the Sea Lion and Song L which are the same car but with different styling. While the Dynasty series and Ocean series are meant to appeal to different customer groups there just seems to be far too much overlap and confusion.

Source: Fast Technology