Electric cars seem to keep getting cheaper and cheaper, so long as you don’t live in America. Japan has the astonishingly cheap Nissan Sakura kei car that I’ve previously detailed, Europe has the reasonably-priced Dacia Spring, and now China’s getting the BYD Seagull. It’s a strange name, but this little EV is a huge deal.
[Editor’s note: Is Seagull really such a strange name? Remember, children, that the Soviet bigshot-limo was called the GAZ-13 Chaika, and “chaika” means “seagull” in Russian. So it’s not that weird, right? A Soviet limo isn’t weird. – JT]
First, a little bit of context on BYD. In 2002, Chinese conglomerate BYD acquired Qinchan Machinery Works and promptly set about transforming it into an automotive subsidiary. Two decades later and BYD is China’s largest electric vehicle company, selling 911,141 EVs in 2022. Not only is the firm expanding into the European passenger car market, it already sells electric buses in North America and is big into lithium iron phosphate batteries. Pretty impressive stuff for an automaker you may not have heard of.
As is typical in the Chinese market, the Seagull recently leaked due to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s homologation process, so we have pictures from all sorts of angles that give us a really good look at the Seagull.
On the outside, the BYD Seagull adopts the urban planning mantra of “if you can’t build out, build up.” At 148.8 inches long, 67.5 inches wide, and 60.6 inches tall, this thing’s roughly the length of a Mitsubishi Mirage, the width of a Kia Rio, and the height of a Mazda CX-30. It sounds like it should be an absolute doddle to drive and park thanks to its compact dimensions, but size isn’t even the best part of this little city car.
See, not only is this thing a proper electric car, it’s expected to cost less than $9,000 at current exchange rates. Granted, you won’t get every fancy feature you see on this example for $9,000. Judging by a detail shot, it looks like advanced driver assistance systems are optional, as are fancy headlights and alloy wheels. Still, $9,000 is dirt-cheap for an EV that isn’t a limited-speed urban-only affair like a Citroen Ami.
Full specifications haven’t been unveiled, but expect a lithium iron phosphate battery which should offer a great battery lifespan. Rumors echoed by Inside EVs suggest that battery capacity may clock in at 30.7 kWh and the electric motor might be good for 74 horsepower, but for all I know, I could awake tomorrow and find that I’ve transformed into a gigantic insect, so don’t take those possible figures as fact.
Overall, the BYD Seagull looks brilliant. It’s cheap, it’s electric, it’s sensibly-sized. Sure, some of the details like the arch trims are a bit fussy, but the down-the-road graphic is solid with those Lamborghini-like headlamps and angular fascia, and I’m really digging the rear end.
However, I can see two small problems with this budget EV, the first of which is the name. When you think about cars named after creatures, most hold either glamorous or cute connotations. The Ford Mustang conjures up wild images of the American West without the casual racism of Clint Eastwood films. The Dodge Viper implies peril like a big red illuminated button flashing “Danger” that adrenaline junkies can press over and over until they end up arse over teakettle in a mess of blood and fiberglass shards. The Fiat Panda sounds all cute and cuddly like a teddy bear. All of these names have appeal to the right people and seem to fit the cars they’re attached to, so they’ve grown to be iconic.
On the other hand, seagulls show up, make a great deal of noise, steal your food, rummage through rubbish, defecate all over everything, and then leave. They’re truly obnoxious, so I couldn’t see why BYD would wish to name a car after them. Sure, the Seagull is part of BYD’s Ocean line that includes the Seal premium sedan, the Dolphin hatchback, and the Destroyer 05 compact sedan, but a moniker like Mussel or Oyster seems a bit more agreeable and still fits the nautical theme. Back to the drawing board on the name, I reckon.
Then there’s the way the greenhouse kicks up along the bottom edge of the rear window, resulting in head restraints level with the windowsill. Sooner or later, those rear footwells could be tidal pools of sick because shorter rear seat occupants may not be able to see out properly and might get motion-sick.
Two small details aside though, the BYD Seagull does look brilliant. It also makes me a bit sad. China has figured out inexpensive EVs, Japan has figured out inexpensive EVs, Europe has figured out reasonably-priced EVs like the Dacia Spring and standard-range Fiat 500e, yet North America seems largely content with sitting on its hands. If we were really serious about EV adoption, we’d have a range of compact and subcompact options to tempt people away from used cars.
It feels like automakers are too keen to make premium plays in the North American market. Features that used to be top-of-the-line like digital gauge clusters and heated seats are now ubiquitous across mid-range compact sedans. However, beyond Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and air conditioning, people looking for a cheap car generally don’t care more about premium aspirations than they do about having a functional vehicle. Combined with rigorous bolstering of charging infrastructure, cheap new EVs can work for many Americans, it’s just a question of whether or not automakers will listen.
(Photo credits: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology)
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My guess, to get it to North American standards, double-ish that price.
A 20k$ car with city driving range in the battery definitely would have a reasonable market.
Mine, mine, mine
This is the kind of thing I am looking for. I just want a commute-to-work EV car that my wife can drive to work (10 miles each way) and run errands in the evening and we then do not have to use our hobby cars for daily stuff. I would rather not spend $30-40K on a new EV or risk $10K on a very old Nissan leaf.
I’ve never seen a rear bumper before that’s an innie.
You know how they get these down to such dirt cheap prices?
Throwing anything resembling quality and safety right out the fucking window.
If you seriously thing that a $9000 ‘full size’ car – especially with profiteering – is somehow safer than the Changli, you’re either stupid or you’re high. Because that is how they get those things so cheap for ‘developing markets.’ Airbags? Nope. Crumple zones? Your legs and shoulders. Impact bars? Maybe some recycled tin or lead. ABS? Try ‘not even disc brakes.’ Crash testing? Ha ha ha.
These things literally are less safe than the legendary ‘cheapest car ever’ Tata Nano. And here’s the Tata Nano crash test.
https://youtu.be/buMXtGoHHIg
Zero stars. Total failure. Severe occupant injury or fatality in every single test.
Was gonna reply with something snarky because something about your delivery always puts me off.
But I doubt I could outsnark you, and I always learn something by reading your comments.
You’re right, I don’t want to drive a tin can like this in modern traffic.
I have this pipe dream that some manufacturer might try their hand at cheap but acceptably safe vehicles and succeed. Probably better off playing the lottery so I can buy a dream car or two, I know. But…. I can hope.
Now let’s see the crash test of the whole family-on-a-scooter the Nano was designed to replace.
Looks like the EV equivalent of the Mitsubishi Mirage and nobody cares about that car. I think it’ll probably be boring to drive and have extra crappy, plasticky interior. Sign me up?
Cars like this are a reminder why it’s probably a better idea to search the second-hand market.
This is where we’ll end up once Walmart gets into transportation….and I don’t mean that disparagingly.
There is demand for cheap transportation that is not being addressed by either the new or used markets. Once someone figures out the right value chain, it will happen. Also I’m in the camp that seagulls are cool….they remind me of summer trips to the beach. They also hang out at Walmart parking lots.
If the BYD Seagull were coming to Oz (it isn’t) then (like the BYD Dolphin that IS coming to Oz) then it would be much more expensive than the equivalent of US$9,000. The Oz spec Dolphin is expected to be nearly AU$40,000 (US$28,000) on launch later this year despite starting at the equivalent of AU$25,000 (US$17,500) in China. Apart from the usual shipping costs, you can add in the cost of all the typical safety equipment required by a European aligned vehicle safety design rules.
Apparently the designer didn’t get paid enough to actually use his/her eyes.
Here’s the commuter that everyone says they want that would fail in the American market. I like everything I see here, right down to the single wiper. Who’s a good boy? Who’s a GOOD boy?
Meh. At least it’s affordable.
They need to sell it here to fill the void left by everyone else abandoning the cheap car segment.
The Tata Nano was $3000 when it first came out. The Renault Kwid starts around $7000, though not an EV.
EV or otherwise, we need more cheap cars, especially under 10k new
Cue the safety and range whiners.
If folks are allowed to cruise around in old MGB’s and air cooled VW’s that’s fine but bash away at a modern EV that serves the same purpose? Cheap transportation.
Safety: So many cars, trucks, vans that a lot of us drive are death traps by modern safety standards. But we still choose to drive them. Hell, we love them.
It’s safer than a motorcycle and we love those.
Range: It’s not for road trips. Neither is an MGB. The reliability range on some of our vehicles is probably worse than many EV’s electric range.
One of things I love about cars, and always have, is the freedom they offer.
It’s about choice. Let me decide what I drive.
A modern EV for the people?
I like the idea.
*the
Not gonna mention the two words that start with E and B. Oh wait I just did.
Modern safety standards are more about keeping cheap foreign competition and smaller startups from taking off, than they are about actual safety, at least in the U.S. There are plenty of lightweight, small European cars that can crash at 100+ mph on the Autobahn where the occupants are likely to walk away without a scratch, but which will not pass U.S. “safety” standards and aren’t allowed here.
Not to say that this cheap Chinese car is actually safe. I wouldn’t trust it on a whim. I do wish it were available though. Cheap EVs are certainly possible, and labor costs are only a small fraction of the cost of putting a mass production car together(we could build such cheap things with relatively high-priced 1st world labor).
If the demand was there, someone would be stepping up. Even in this uncertain economic environment, there is a huge amount of capital looking for returns. So either “so many of us* driving catastrophically unsafe vehicles” is too small a group to sell enough every year or there truly is a conspiracy to shut down this particular market. Anecdote measuring contests or sample sizes of “the people I know” aren’t how anyone should invest money.
*I have an MGA which, demonstrably, is less safe and has less range than an MGB.
I guess when I said “so many of us” I was referring to me and others on the lower end of the tax bracket. I have no choice but to buy used. My daily is old enough to drink. I could live comfortably for a year on what many people pay for a car these days. Just wishful thinking I guess.
You’re talking about my gulls all wrong.
I think it’s a good name. Seagulls are bold and resourceful birds.
The only thing wrong with seagulls is humans.
Without us and our garbage they are pretty cool birds.
Everybody considers them garbage birds, that’s never sat right with me.
It’s our garbage, and yet we give them shit for picking up after us.
You’ve clearly never tried to enjoy some fish and chips on the Weston-super-Mare sea-front.
(I’d also point out that they sometimes eat pigeons, but honestly, fuck pigeons too).
Humans eat pigeons too. Remember the Passenger Pigeon, they are extinct because we ate them all. Once again the bird isn’t the problem it’s the habitat we’ve left them with that makes them seem gross.
I think seagulls are pretty, actually.
Yeah, especially the graceful way their wings curve. Ya know, it would be really cool if a car maker made doors with a similar shape to a gull’s wings. If only…
There’s about fifty species of them.
Some of them are damn near majestic.
You ever watch em surf?
They fly out into the ocean and ride as close to the waves as they can without getting (I dunno) wet? Eaten?
They surf because they are bored.
Smart like Corvids.
But with those big gull wings.
“yet we give them shit for picking up after us.”
Oh they give back massive amounts of shit. Literally. Sometimes right in your face.
Pro tip: Going somewhere with lots of gulls? Wear a wide brimmed hat.
I don’t know… BYD seems like it’s going to become equivalent to VAG, Stellantis, and Ford (aka huge). It’s the only brand in China worth buying, and they are going to leverage it. Their vertical silo at the hands of questionable labor practices have lead to this profit margin that is just unbelievable. I fear this to lead to national monopolies. How long is all of this sustainable??
Albatross! Albatross! Albatross!
I am willing to take a certain amount of risk by my vehicle choices and have been my entire adult life.
Make people aware and they can choose too.
A Hummer EV would crush my cheap Mexican made Fiesta, leave me and my Asian bikes as grease marks and be squashed by a freight train. Therefore we should all drive freight trains. (-;
Maine: Don’t even think about it.
Just wait until the Seagull is 25 years old and someone imports a CDM electric car to Maine. They will have to be very creative to disallow it in their registries.
Now I know what the illegitimate lovechild of a Chevy Volt and Toyota CHR would look like.
The rear end looks like it just realized that it swallowed a fly… or something even more gross than that.
Of course, since this vehicle doesn’t need to meet the ginormous number of US regulations it can cost a lot less. Unfortunately for BYD, a lot of those are for safety, so they won’t be selling anything like that over here. Fortunately for us, they won’t be selling anything like that over here.
Also, one of the reasons automakers here – who DO have to meet all those regulations – are putting out expensive cars first is that they’re losing money on them, and only staying afloat thanks to those evil ICE vehicle they are going to retire in just a couple of years (ha ha sure they are). If they had to live on EVs alone they would be out of business (except, apparently, for Tesla, who I hear tell has some pretty high margins on their vehicles)
Build your dreams! They did , I want one!
You’ll get a BYD only if you have a CDL. BYD’ US offerings are limited to city commuter buses, school buses, and commercial Class 6 and Class 8 semis. The closest they came to offering a passenger vehicle here was the e6, and that was sold to taxi, shuttle and Uber/Lyft drivers, and I don’t think it’s still
available.
Your last two paragraphs dive into some unsubstantiated claim territory. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but it seems to me that given the cost and risk of meeting all federal regs with a new vehicle, a manufacturer has to be damn sure it will sell enough to make money. It’s why all the current “new player” EV plays started at the high end (big fat margin to cover costs).
It’s possible existing manufacturers could spread the development and testing costs of a cheap EV better, but it’s still a game of “here are all the things we can build and sell, what portfolio of products makes us the most money?” I would argue they have ALL decided cheap EVs in the US ain’t where it’s at. They could be wrong of course but their actions tell us what they think of the idea.
So we are left with your claim that there is demand and it’s a good market for someone to address. In order for that to be true, there must be forces working against that demand. (1) as above, too expensive/risky to develop the car, (2) no margin/profit at the predicted volumes, (3) dark conspiracy of energy companies, car manufacturers, politicians, etc.
I might posit that the heterogeneous use cases of the car market in the US mean designing that cheap EV will inevitably limit the demand. Live in the suburbs and have a long (time and/or distance) commute? Live in a rural area with long distances and crap charging options? That’s still a big chunk of the car buying public here.
Summary: if it’s only up to existing or new manufacturers, I don’t know that we will see these here. As your final sentence says, if we have better infrastructure, some portion of drivers could benefit. Whether it’s enough to make money is an open question.
Yes, the editorial slant of this site is clearly that there’s a bunch of people out there dying to buy cheaply made, low-content cars (EV or otherwise). The evil automakers are denying them this golden chance to enjoy the type of wonderful motoring usually experienced in the third world.
Never mind the evidence that those kinds of cars have never sold well in this country barring exceptional circumstances (gas crises).
These cheap cars (shitboxes, if I may be so bold?) appeal to the writers, therefore they must appeal to everyone. Therefore articles are written about how the automakers are making a mistake by not bringing them here.
Your analysis is spot on. If the automakers would make money selling a cheap car here, someone would have done it. Instead we see the opposite trend. Carmakers are moving away from low end models because no one is buying them.
The BYD is a step or two over a Changli, so at least there’s that…
As long as America is willing to write off human lives in not only the production of these cars using slave labor but not require insurance companies to insure these death traps whether the driver or whoever runs into these tin cans we can get these cars. Also i am pretty sure these catch fire more often than quality EVs.
Lithium-iron phosphate batteries are not prone to catching fire, inherent in their chemistry.
Wow Dave, tell us what you really think.
Don’t worry, he will.
Of course, the big question is range. China and India already have an abundance of sub-$9,000 ICE small cars that can go 300+ miles on a tank and refuel in minutes, and we know there’s a number of six figure luxury EVs with really excellent range numbers and lightning fast charge times, but it seems like most small, cheap, electric cars are designed for elderly retiree lifestyles where they go to church on Sunday, their doctor’s office on Tuesday, and nothing else.
Exactly. The US in particular needs to remove many layers of regulations so cars like this could exist in a non-highway class. Low-speed vehicles on steroids. Retirees, students and local workers all need that.
Who put the CH-R in the dryer? You know it’s air dry only!