BYD has seen the first production cars of the Seal DM-i roll off the assembly line, with the plug-in hybrid model expected to boost sales of the Seal lineup.

The first Seal DM-i production vehicles rolled off the line today at BYD's Zhengzhou plant in central China's Henan province, with the model expected to go on sale in the third quarter.

BYD's Zhengzhou base has a planned capacity to produce hundreds of thousands of new energy vehicles (NEVs) annually, and the Seal DM-i is expected to have a monthly production capacity of up to 30,000 units.

Initially launched in China on July 29, 2022, the BYD Seal is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that is seen as one of the strongest rivals to the Tesla Model 3 in China. Deliveries of the model began last August, and BYD made a revamped version of the Seal available on May 10.

The Seal DM-i was originally the Chaser 07, which debuted on April 18, the first day of the Shanghai auto show. BYD said at the time that the model would start at RMB 200,000 yuan to 250,000 yuan, with an expected launch date in the third quarter. On July 14, BYD renamed the Chaser 07 the Seal DM-i, seemingly hoping to capitalize on the Seal lineup's greater popularity. In September 2021, BYD signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Henan provincial government to build an NEV production base in the central Chinese province.

On April 6 this year, the first phase of BYD's Zhengzhou base saw its first production vehicle roll off the production line, a Song Pro DM-i. The first phase of the plant has a planned annual capacity of 400,000 units, and the production base will have second and third phases, which will have a total capacity of more than 1 million units when completed.

The Seal DM-i is a B+ sedan with a length, width and height of 4,980 mm, 1,890 mm and 1,495 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,900 mm.