Manufacturer Guides

BYD SUV and car model range explained

• 3 min read

Ben Custard

Content Editor

Ben is a Content Editor at Motorpoint. He's written for Top Gear and Auto Express, and has written a book. He likes hot hatches, estates and weird Japanese cars

BYD has so far outsold Tesla, Mini and Dacia in 2025, and the range is still growing.

BYD not only develops its cars, but its battery and engine infrastructure as well – and it supplies other carmakers too. We’re not surprised if BYD has recently come onto your radar, with some rapid growth since its introduction into the UK, but its model range is a little confusing.

Just be glad we’ve only got a few of them so far. Globally, BYD sells around 40 different models, and that’s not including the ones sold in its Denza, Yangwang and Fangchengbao sub-brands. Here are all the BYD models in the UK.

BYD SUV range explained

BYD Atto 2

This is BYD’s smallest SUV, and it’s going toe-to-toe with the likes of the Ford Puma Gen-E, Peugeot e-2008 and Renault Megane E-Tech. It launched as an electric car with up to 267 miles of range and fast public charging capability. Now, BYD has confirmed that it’ll also be available as a plug-in hybrid, which promises a 56-mile electric range and the back-up of a petrol engine for longer journeys.

Read our BYD Atto 2 review

BYD Atto 3

The Atto 3 was the first BYD to land on our shores (excluding buses and rideshare vehicles), and it shocked us with a vibrant blue and cream interior. There’s a rotating touchscreen, guitar strings on the door handles and unusually designed fixtures – so it feels completely different to cars from ‘legacy’ brands. The Atto 3 is an electric car with a circa-260-mile range.

Shop used BYD Atto 3 cars for sale or read our BYD Atto 3 review

BYD Seal U

BYD’s most popular UK model to date was the first one not to be fully electric. It’s a plug-in hybrid (that’s what ‘DM-i’ means in BYD-speak) with the choice of two battery sizes. Go for the top model and you’ll get up to 77 miles of electric range – putting it right amongst the longest-range PHEVs and meaning that the majority of daily journeys can be done on electric power.

Shop used BYD Seal U cars for sale at Motorpoint

BYD Sealion 7

Launched in early 2025, the Sealion 7 is possibly BYD’s most impressive UK car to date. It feels like a premium product, has sporty styling and will crack 300 miles to a charge. However, it has the price to match, starting from nearly £50,000 and topping out at £60,000 for the rapid Excellence AWD model.

BYD hatchback range explained

BYD Dolphin Surf

Called the BYD Seagull in other markets, the Dolphin Surf has been renamed presumably so customers don’t think it’s going to nick their chips. It’s one of the UK’s cheapest electric cars, although the base model has a small battery and a maximum range of 137 miles. That jumps to a pleasingly round 200 miles with the bigger battery. Despite being the smallest car BYD makes, standard equipment includes vegan upholstery, sat nav and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

BYD Dolphin

The Dolphin was the second BYD to launch in the UK. It’s an electric hatchback that’s a similar size to the Volkswagen ID.3 and MG4, although it looks a little smaller than those cars in photos. Range stands at 265 miles from a 60kWh battery, and the performance is nippy, with 0-62mph taking seven seconds. As with several other BYD models, the touchscreen rotates to give you the choice of portrait or landscape view.

BYD saloon range explained

BYD Seal

One of the Tesla Model 3’s main rivals, the BYD Seal is a sleek electric saloon that’s very efficient. The stats for the basic model are seriously impressive – 354 miles of range and a sub-six-second 0-62mph time, while the top model has a supercar-humbling 3.8-second 0-62mph time, courtesy of 530hp and all-wheel drive.

BYD Seal 6

This is where it gets a bit confusing. The new Seal 6 is a completely different model to the Seal. The Seal 6 is a plug-in hybrid, with either 34 or 65 miles of electric range, depending on the size of the battery. But perhaps a bigger difference is the price – the Seal 6 starts from £34,000, drastically undercutting both the Seal saloon and close rivals such as the BMW 330e.

BYD estate range explained

BYD Seal 6 Touring

The Seal 6 Touring is the estate model of the Seal 6 saloon, and is £1,000 extra. EV range stands at 31 miles for the smaller battery and 62 miles for the larger one, although BYD reckons you’ll get over 800 miles total range when the petrol tank is full and the battery is charged up.

Shop all used electric cars and all used plug-in hybrid cars for sale at Motorpoint.