Tesla Rival BYD Planning to Manufacture Electric Vehicles in India, Tata Motors, Elon Musk

BYD, one of the largest electric vehicle (EV) companies, plans to start manufacturing in India soon. Despite tensions between India and China, BYD has expanded its business in the country. The company’s electric vehicles are getting good response in India.

BYD has introduced the Sealion 7 electric SUV at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo. Rajeev Chauhan, head of BYD’s electric passenger vehicles business in the country, said the company plans to start manufacturing once all conditions are in favour. However, earlier BYD’s plan to set up an EV and battery manufacturing unit in the country with an investment of about one billion dollars in collaboration with a Hyderabad company was not approved by the Central Government. The company said that the visa restrictions on Chinese citizens in India have not affected its business.

BYD’s portfolio in the country includes Atto3, E Max 7 and Seal. However, BYD has not given information about the price of Sealion 7. Booking for this can be done for Rs 70,000. Its front design is similar to the company’s Seal sedan. Sealion 7 has a 10.25 inch digital instrument cluster and 15.6 inch rotating touchscreen infotainment cluster. It has features like automatic climate control, 12-speaker audio system and panoramic sunroof. The battery of Sealion 7 is 82.56 kWh. Its AWD variant has a power of 523 hp and peak torque of 690 Nm. The RWD variant of Sealion 7 has a single electric motor that generates 308 hp power and 380 Nm peak torque.

The company claims that the AWD variant of this electric SUV gives a range of about 542 kilometers on a single charge and the RWD variant gives a range of about 567 kilometers. Last year, BYD made a sales record. The company has sold approximately 42.5 lakh units. Elon Musk’s Tesla is facing tough competition from BYD in the international market of EV. Company Seal EV has received good response from customers in the country. It is available in two options of single and dual motor and two battery packs.