ON THE CHARGE
Major car brand’s electric ‘supermini’ is coming to UK & will be Britain’s cheapest EV – and set to rival popular motor
Hotly anticipated EV to arrive in the UK next year
A major car brand's electric "supermini" is coming to the UK and will be Britain's cheapest EV - along with rivalling a very popular motor.
The budget BYD Seagull is now heading for forecourts across the UK, it has been confirmed.
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The electric vehicle sells for around £8,000, making it one of the most competitive motors in the market.
The Chinese brand’s executive vice president Stella Li has now confirmed the Seagull is heading to the UK.
Speaking to media ahead of the Beijing show, BYD Company’s Executive Vice President Li said, “Yes, we plan to bring the Seagull to
Europe next year. But it’s not the Chinese-market Seagull.
"It will be a European-market Seagull; a new Seagull. You haven’t seen it yet; even myself, I have not seen it yet.”
The Seagull comes in at just 3.78 meters, making it smaller than the supermini. The 39kWh battery should deliver a range of 252 miles.
The firm plans to go from 21 to 60 dealers in the UK by the summer, giving good geographic coverage across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
BYD operates a wholesale retail model and keeps a good stock of cars to be able to get them to buyers quickly.
Li added: "Before the end of the year, we’re going to announce an additional three or four manufacturing plants, globally.
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“One may be in Mexico, in the centre or south of Mexico, to mainly focus on the Mexican market.
"The other two will be in different regions. In Europe, maybe one facility is not enough.”
BYD’s UK marketing boss Mark Blundell said he was “keen to have it” when asked about the potential UK launch of the Seagull and said there was a clear space below the BYD Dolphin hatchback in the range for it.
Blundell said that it was BYD’s strategy to “make electric cars accessible to all” and keen pricing was part of that.
Speaking at an event to mark the one-year anniversary of BYD’s launch in the UK, Blundell said he’d like to see BYD “established as a credible brand".