2025 BYD Sealion 6: Australia’s cheapest PHEV on par

The Sealion 6 is already Australia’s most affordable plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and our market’s best-selling PHEV last year, and the new Essential’s entry cost is $3000 lower than the outgoing Dynamic.

Only Essential and Premium features are included in the 2025 model line-up, with the latter still priced at $52,990 before on-road costs.

Orders are being taken today and the vehicles will arrive in March.

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While the company announced pricing in a press release, it didn’t reveal which features were removed from the older Dynamic to lower the price, saying only that “all five-star ANCAP safety features have also been retained.” It hasn’t released any images of Essential yet.

We will update this article when more information becomes available.

The Essential has the same 18.3kWh Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery as other Sealion 6 models, and like the Dynamic, its total system output is 160kW and 300Nm.

Unlike the top-spec Premium, it’s front-wheel drive and can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 8.5 seconds.

The Atto 3 Essential lowers the entry cost of the electric SUV range by $4509, while the Dolphin Essential is $6900 cheaper than the Dynamic model it replaces.

Both models have lost some features compared to their previous entry-level models, with the Dolphin Essential and Atto 3 Essential lacking features like a panoramic glass roof and wireless phone charger.