BYD launches in Slovakia and the Czech Republic

The Chinese carmaker is expanding its presence on the European market and started offering its electric cars in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In both cases, BYD kicks things off with the all-electric Sealion 7 and the plug-in hybrid Seal U DM-i.

It is another example of BYD steering away from how it did things in the recent past. Until recently, the Chinese carmaker launched in numerous European markets with the electric trio consisting of the Atto 3, the Han and the Tang. However, just last week, BYD announced its expansion into the Swiss market with the same models it will now offer in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Let’s first look at Slovakia. According to BYD, it wants to open 20 stores there by the end of the year. A first sales point in partnership with Auto Impex has already opened its doors, ‘maintaining BYD’s policy of working with leading dealer groups across Europe as it extends its reach in the region.’

“We’re incredibly proud and excited to be opening our network in Slovakia. At BYD, our mission is to make our sustainable technologies accessible to as many consumers as possible, so every new market in Europe is extremely important to us,” BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li said.

In the Czech Republic, BYD is looking to open 30 stores nationwide by the end of 2025. ‘The first retail outlet is opening in Prague 9, a fast-developing, dynamic area of the Czech capital,’ the press release states. In this case, the Chinese carmaker will partner with Auto Louda to extend its presence in the country.

As mentioned above, BYD will only offer two of its vehicles in Slovakia and the Czech Republic for now, mainly the Sealion 7 and the Seal U DM-i plug-in hybrid. The Sealion 7, an electric SUV, is available with two drive trains and in three trim levels (Comfort, Design AWD, Excellence AWD). The battery has a capacity of 91.3 kWh for a WLTP range of 502 km. The DC charging power is 230 kW. It is quite new in Europe and was only announced for the local markets in autumn.

DM-i, on the other hand, is BYD’s internal abbreviation for plug-in hybrids (BYD stopped producing pure combustion engines as early as 2022). The manufacturer estimates the all-electric range of the Seal U DM-i to be up to 115 kilometres.

In both cases, BYD says it will launch additional electric vehicles, ‘including the compact all-electric ATTO 2 SUV, […] in due course’. In Switzerland, it also launched the electric saloon Seal.

Source: Information per e-mail