BYD preparing to take on Toyota Camry in Australia with cheaper Seal 06 or Qin L model

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While the popularity of midsize sedans in Australia has gradually fallen over the years, the evergreen Toyota Camry has remained the utterly dominant player in the affordable four-door segment — but now China’s BYD is preparing to enter.

BYD does already have an entrant in the midsize sedan class with the battery electric Seal, but the Seal is currently too expensive to take down the Camry.

Priced between $46,990 to $61,990 plus on-road costs, the electric Seal is good value in its own right, but most Toyota Camry examples delivered in Australia are the $39,990 Ascent and $42,990 Ascent Sport — in other words, the ones bought by rideshare and taxi fleets.

BYD sees potential in the midsize sedan segment

Speaking with Chasing Cars, BYD Australia chief product officer Sajid Hasan said that while the size of the midsize car segment has fallen, it remains popular in China and as a result, BYD develops cars that would be suitable.

Mr Hasan previously worked as a product planning and pricing manager for Toyota Motor Company Australia between 2010 and the end of 2023.

“We have a couple of products in that space that would be a suitable competitor for [the Camry],” said Hasan.

“We have a few options that we could launch in that space. We have a PHEV, as well as an EV. We are evaluating which is the right one to drop in and seeing how that fits with our total product strategy.

“Maybe we will have something — in the near future — to announce.”

With the BEV-powered Seal already cut to the bone in base Dynamic 150kW trim, BYD Australia has confirmed that it is evaluating two cheaper midsize cars to slot into its local lineup below the Seal sedan — in order to compete directly with Camry.

The move would be a continuation of BYD Australia’s strategy of expanding its model lineup into niche categories and price segments.

Adding a sub-Seal model to contest the Camry segment would mirror a similar decision by BYD to bring the Sealion 5 PHEV crossover to Australia to sit just beneath the Sealion 6 hybrid in order to ward off cheaper rivals.

Year-to-date, Toyota has delivered 8508 Camry examples in Australia, compared to 3214 for the BYD Seal, 843 for the discontinued Mazda 6 and 617 for the Skoda Octavia.

Seal 06 and Qin L models likely being considered for Australia

BYD’s mooted Camry rival for Australia is likely to be either the BYD Seal 06 or BYD Qin L. While both models differ slightly in size and appearance—with the Qin wearing more traditional styling—both are available in PHEV or BEV versions.

The Seal 06 will shortly enter the European market where it will be offered as a rival to key European taxi fleet models like the Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Golf wagon.

It is available as a 1.5-litre petrol PHEV with 10kWh or 15kWh LFP batteries, and interestingly, the Seal 06 hybrid can be ordered as a sedan or a station wagon.

Right-hand drive production for the Seal 06 has already kicked off for Thailand, potentially making it easier for BYD Australia to import the ‘Ocean Series’ model here.

A sedan-only BEV version of the Seal 06 is also available as a cheaper and less powerful alternative to the ‘full fat’ BYD Seal already sold in Australia. The electric Seal 06 uses 46kWh or 56kWh battery packs and produces 110-160kW.

The situation is essentially identical for the BYD Qin L, with PHEV and BEV offerings with the same power outputs and battery sizes as the closely-related Seal 06, but with different styling cues — and no station wagon version.

No right-hand drive market is currently understood to import the Qin L, though Malaysian sources indicate that the model may be on its way to that right-hook nation.