There’s now an updated ‘Honor Edition’ of the 2024 BYD Seal in China. Honor Edition refers to BYD’s mid-lifecycle specifications update. It’s often accompanied by an adjustment in prices.

If you’ve just bought or are going to buy a BYD Seal from a local BYD dealer in Malaysia, do not worry. This Chinese market 2024 BYD Seal Honor Edition has no meaningful updates to its specifications. Most of what’s new are related to financing and charging credits, which are not relevant to us Malaysians.

There are some mentions of a new smart power on-off feature, which allows the driver to turn on / off the car by simply leaving locking / unlocking the car, but this feature is already rolled out in the last OTA (over the air) update for Chinese market cars.

The highlight is its lower starting price, which is 10,000 Yuan or 5.3% lower than the previous 2023 model. The BYD Seal now starts at 179,800 Yuan (~RM 117.6k), significantly undercutting the Tesla Model 3’s 245,900 Yuan (~RM 160.8k).

BYD China also sells a plug-in hybrid Seal DM-I, which also had its price slashed by 10 percent last September. The plug-in hybrid Seal now starts at 149,800 Yuan (~RM 97.9k).

The Seal DM-i is powered by a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine, boosted by either a 197 PS or a 218 PS front motor (depending on variant), powered by either a 17.6 kWh or a 30.7 kWh Blade Battery.

In Malaysia, sole authorized distributor Sime Darby Beyond Auto only sells the fully electric BYD Seal. The model is imported from China, priced between RM 180,430 to RM 200,430.

Its closest rival, the Tesla Model 3 and Ora 07 starts from RM 189,000. Great Wall Motor will also be launching its Ora 07 next month, April. The launch was initially planned for this month but that’s no longer happening, which may be a wise move considering the Muslim fasting month.

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