BYD is continuing to expand its Ocean family of electric vehicles, seeking government approval to bring out a smaller version of its Seal sports sedan, according to information revealed by the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on May 11. The compact hatchback will measure 4.6 meters in length and 1.5 meters in height with a wheelbase of roughly 2.8 meters, making it significantly larger than its siblings including the RMB 99,800 ($13,795) Dolphin and lower-priced Seagull. The new Seal variant has a lightweight and nimble feel with short overhangs and athletic lines, and could be named the Seal 06 GT, Seal 05 EV, or Seal MiNI, pictures published on the MIIT website showed. China’s biggest EV maker sold 127,323 plug-in hybrid and all-electric Seal vehicles last year, bringing it into fierce competition with rivals’ models including the Zeekr 007 from Geely and IM LS6 from SAIC. [TechNode reporting, MIIT release, in Chinese]
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