Australia's fifth best selling new car in September 2026 is an electric SUV from a brand few knew three years ago. Here's whether the BYD Sealion 7 deserves your money.
By Varun Punyamurtula · · Updated
The Sealion 7 has earned its place near the top of the sales charts. The Premium delivers a luxurious cabin, strong range and five star safety for less than a base Model Y, and the current $4,000 cashback sweetens it further. Just go in knowing resale and fast charging are its weak spots.
From $54,990 plus on road costs
About $59,900 drive away in NSW. See VIC and QLD
Three years ago most Australians couldn't have told you what BYD stood for. In September 2026, its Sealion 7 was the fifth best selling new vehicle in the country, with 2,687 finding homes in a single month.
That puts an electric SUV from a Chinese brand ahead of nameplates that have lived in Aussie driveways for decades. Not a ute. Not a Toyota. A battery powered family SUV that starts in the mid $50,000s.
So is the Sealion 7 genuinely that good, or is it riding a wave of cashback deals and clever marketing? We've gone through the specs, prices, safety data and running costs to find out.
Quick answer: The Sealion 7 is one of the best value electric family SUVs in Australia right now. The Premium is the sweet spot, with a big battery, a lavish cabin and five star safety for less than a base Tesla Model Y. The catches are average DC charging speeds, an unproven resale story and a brand that discounts often.
The Sealion 7 comes in two grades, both using the same 82.56kWh BYD Blade battery (lithium iron phosphate chemistry, which tolerates regular charging to 100 per cent).
As of 7 October 2026, BYD Australia is running a $4,000 cashback on both grades for orders placed between 1 October and 21 December 2026 (delivered by 31 December). Novated lease buyers can get a 6 per cent discount off the list price instead. Metallic paint costs extra.
Through August and September, BYD sold the Premium at $54,990 drive away. That deal has ended, but it tells you where the real price is heading. Do not pay full sticker.
Even the cheaper Premium is loaded. Standard kit includes:
The Performance adds all wheel drive, 20 inch wheels, painted front calipers, a heated steering wheel and heated rear seats.
The cabin is where BYD wins plenty of showroom battles. Quilted leather, ambient lighting and that big tablet screen make it feel more expensive than it is. Owners and testers commonly praise the materials, though some find the screen heavy menus and a few fiddly touch controls take time to learn.
The Premium has more than enough punch for a family SUV. The Performance is properly quick, quicker than plenty of hot hatches, but you pay for it with $9,000 extra and 26km less range.
Both grades use double wishbone front and multi link rear suspension with frequency selective dampers. Early reviews report a comfortable, quiet highway ride, with some testers noting the body can feel soft and floaty on bumpy back roads rather than tied down.
BYD quotes up to 150kW DC fast charging and 11kW AC. That 150kW peak is merely competitive in 2026; several rivals now accept more. In practice it means a coffee and a sandwich stop at a fast charger rather than a quick splash. Most owners will do the bulk of their charging overnight at home, where it doesn't matter.
This is where the Sealion 7 quietly makes its case. Real world consumption figures from owners commonly sit around 20kWh per 100km for the Premium (the Performance uses a little more). Based on 15,000km a year:
These are our estimates, and your electricity tariff and driving will change them. The bigger saving for many buyers is tax. Electric cars under the luxury car tax threshold for fuel efficient vehicles are exempt from fringe benefits tax under a novated lease, according to the ATO, which can save thousands a year. Hybrids like the RAV4 don't qualify.
Servicing is due every 12 months or 20,000km. Owners report capped price servicing costs of around $400 a year on average, though you should confirm current pricing with BYD before you buy.
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The Sealion 7 is a big car. It measures 4,830mm long on a generous 2,930mm wheelbase, which is longer than a Tesla Model Y.
Rear legroom is generous thanks to that long wheelbase. The trade off is the coupe style roofline, which eats into headroom for taller passengers and limits how tall you can stack the boot. If you regularly carry bulky gear, check it in person.
BYD's Australian specification sheet does not list a braked towing capacity for the Sealion 7. If you need to tow a trailer or van, confirm with BYD before ordering.
ANCAP awarded the Sealion 7 five stars, tested in 2025 and valid until December 2031:
The airbag count includes a driver's far side airbag and rear side airbags, plus AEB, adaptive cruise, lane keeping, blind spot detection, front and rear cross traffic alert with braking, and driver attention monitoring.
One blemish: ANCAP rated chest protection for the rear passenger in the full width frontal test as Weak. And like many Chinese built cars, owners commonly report that some driver assistance alerts can be over eager, although software updates have toned things down.
BYD covers the Sealion 7 for six years or 150,000km, with the traction battery covered for eight years or 160,000km. That's competitive, but Kia's seven year warranty on the EV5 beats it.
Resale is the big unknown. BYD has cut prices and run cashback offers repeatedly since the Sealion 7 launched in early 2025, and every new discount drags down used values. If you plan to sell in three years, budget for a steeper hit than you'd take on a Toyota RAV4 or Tesla Model Y. If you keep cars for eight to ten years, it matters far less.
From $58,900 plus on road costs for the Premium RWD. Tesla's Supercharger network is still the easiest fast charging experience in Australia, and the Model Y holds its value well. But the Sealion 7 Premium undercuts it by about $4,000 before discounts and has a plusher, better equipped cabin.
Winner: Sealion 7 on value and cabin, Model Y on charging and resale.
The EV5 Air starts at around $56,770 plus on road costs (Kia regularly offers drive away deals below that). It's boxier and more practical, with a seven year warranty. The Sealion 7 is faster, more luxurious and has more range than the entry EV5.
Winner: EV5 for practical families, Sealion 7 for everyone else.
From $41,990 plus on road costs with up to 475km of WLTP range after its 2026 update. It's thousands cheaper and genuinely good, but smaller, slower and less upmarket inside.
Winner: EX5 on price, Sealion 7 on size and quality.
The new generation RAV4 hybrid starts from $45,990 plus on road costs for the GX 2WD. No charging, no range worry, legendary resale and a huge dealer network. The Sealion 7 is faster, quieter and far better equipped, and much cheaper to run if you can charge at home.
Winner: RAV4 if you can't charge at home or tow regularly, Sealion 7 if you can plug in.
The Sealion 7 has earned its sales chart spot. It packs a premium cabin, a big battery and five star safety into a price that undercuts the Model Y, and the current $4,000 cashback makes it sharper still. Our pick is the Premium. The Performance is thrilling, but most families won't use the extra 160kW often enough to justify the price or the lost range.
Buy it if: you can charge at home or work, want a luxurious feel for mainstream money, plan to keep the car long term, or are going down the novated lease path.
Skip it if: you need to tow, plan to sell within three years, rely heavily on public fast charging for long road trips, or want the safest bet on resale.
The Premium is $54,990 plus on road costs and the Performance is $63,990 plus on road costs. BYD is offering $4,000 cashback on both until 21 December 2026.
The Premium is rated at 482km WLTP and the Performance at 456km WLTP. Expect less at highway speeds or in cold weather, with around 400km a realistic everyday figure for the Premium.
Yes. It holds a five star ANCAP rating, with 87 per cent for adult and 93 per cent for child occupant protection.
It accepts up to 150kW DC, so expect a stop of roughly half an hour at a quality fast charger from low to around 80 per cent. On an 11kW home wallbox, a full charge takes around eight hours, which suits overnight charging.
It's cheaper, better equipped and plusher inside. The Model Y has the better charging network and stronger resale. For value, the Sealion 7 wins.
Prices checked on 7 October 2026 and exclude on road costs unless stated. Rival prices are manufacturer list prices as published and can change without notice. Sales figure from FCAI VFACTS for September 2026. Images: BYD Australia (manufacturer media).
An estimate for a private buyer. Pick your state.
| List price | $54,990 |
|---|---|
| Stamp duty (NSW) | $1,950 |
| Rego and CTP, 12 months | $1,000 |
| Dealer delivery (typical) | $2,000 |
| Drive away, about | $59,900 |
Drive away by state: NSW $59,900, VIC $60,400, QLD $58,900.
Why a new car loses value so fast: about $4,950 of the drive away price is stamp duty, rego, CTP and dealer delivery. You never get that back when you sell, because the next owner pays their own. GST and any Luxury Car Tax are built into the list price, so they fade with the car's value over the years rather than vanishing on day one. The rest of the drop comes from age, kilometres and demand.
Estimates only, using 2026-27 rates. Rego and CTP depend on the car's weight, your insurer and postcode, and dealer delivery varies (some brands sell at one national drive away price). Ask the dealer for a written drive away quote.
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