China’s affordable EV market is ridiculously good for its value. Just a day after Volkswagen opened pre-orders for its $17,175 ID. The Era 5S plug-in hybrid BYD launched the 2027 Seal 06 with even lower prices.
The DM-i plug-in hybrid is priced at 99,900 yuan, or about $14,700, while the all-electric Seal 06 starts at 109,900 yuan, or about $16,100. By comparison, America’s cheapest electric car, the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt, starts at $28,995. That makes the Bolt almost $13,000 more expensive than the entry-level Seal 06 EV.
Even $16,100 gets you a decent electric car
The Seal 06 EV uses BYD’s second-generation Blade Battery and 800V high-voltage architecture, with battery capacities of 52.9 kWh and 64.3 kWh. Depending on the configuration, the range of the CLTC reaches 530 or 630 km, roughly 329 and 391 miles. Its more powerful 240 kW engine can accelerate the sedan from zero to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds.
BYD also brought its native flash charging platform to the Seal 06 EV. Think of this as the fast-charging technology for electric cars, which is also found in more expensive BYD models. Top-end models also get BYDs
The higher decorations are even more interesting. BYD offers its LiDAR-equipped God’s Eye B 5.0 driver assistance package with city and highway navigation assistant, while the top-of-the-range variants add the DiSus-C electromagnetic damping system, which can continuously adjust the suspension.
In addition, there is a 15.6-inch rotatable infotainment display, an 8.8-inch digital cluster, an optional 29-inch head-up display, 50W wireless charging and DeepSeek-based voice assistant.
China continues to do so
The Seal 06 is just one of the impressively approachable electric vehicles coming out of China. We’ve already covered the 2026 BYD Seagull, which starts around $10,300 in China and offers roughly 250 miles of CLTC range with available LiDAR. BAIC’s Arcfox Beta T1 is even lower, starting around $9,200.
Then this week came the Volkswagen with the $17,175 ID. 5S era. Now BYD has followed with an all-EV starting at $16,100. Meanwhile, America finally has a sub-$30,000 Bolt again. But when you look at what you can buy in China for the same money, it doesn’t seem so impressive anymore.
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