Taxi Today test: BYD Seal 6 DM-i Touring launches with Intax as an estate

Chinese manufacturers are quick when it comes to making announcements. The big words are not always followed by corresponding actions. That’s why success in Germany has been modest so far. A Chinese proverb goes: “活到老，学到老” – which roughly means: “You never stop learning.” BYD has taken this to heart and is making a fresh start in Germany. This move has to hit the mark. They know that in Shenzhen, too. One weakness so far has been a dealer network that is too sparse. “We want to grow sustainably and step by step in Germany,” says Germany chief Lars Bialkowski. By the end of 2025, at least 120 dealers are to be active here, and around 300 by the end of 2026. According to the manager, they are on track to meet these targets.

But part of the truth of the car business is that the largest number of showrooms and workshops is of no use if the product does not meet customers’ expectations. Looking at the sales figures, the Chinese carmaker is still a long way from its own ambitions. Stella Li, the manager responsible for Europe, set a target of around 50,000 units sold in Germany for 2025. By the end of August, BYD had only achieved 8,412 new registrations between Flensburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A glaring discrepancy between ambition and reality. Now the Seal 6 DM-i Touring estate is supposed to set things right. Before the SUV wave, the estate was the Germans’ favorite and is still in demand among company-car drivers.

“We want to be perceived in Germany as a European manufacturer. This car is part of that, as it targets the heart of German demand,” beams Lars Bialkowski.

High hybrid range

The specs of the plug-in hybrid in the top Comfort version look promising: 156 kW / 212 hp of power, a battery with a capacity of 19 kilowatt-hours that enables a purely electric range of 100 kilometers, and an average consumption of 1.7 liters per 100 kilometers. Thanks to the 65-liter gasoline tank, the part-time EV can go up to 1,350 kilometers. That is music to the ears of every long-distance driver. However, the marathon PHEV also comes at a price, starting at a minimum of 49,990 euros. Anyone who puts 1,000 euros less on the table gets the Comfort-Lite version, which we drove. It does have the identical powertrain, but there are a few differences in the equipment. For example, the central touchscreen measures only 12.8 instead of 15.6 inches and, untypical for BYD, does not rotate. The virtual cockpit is the same size in both versions at 8.8 inches.

Double Intelligence

At BYD, the abbreviation DM-i stands for Dual-Mode Intelligence. It bridges the old and new worlds of propulsion: a combustion engine combined with an electric motor. While in most competitors the gasoline engine has the upper hand, BYD turns this system on its head. “Electric first” is the motto. So the 145 kW / 197 PS electric motor is in charge most of the time, and the 72 kW / 98 PS combustion engine lends a hand when needed. This results in an EV-like and thus pleasantly effortless driving feel – at least as long as you take it easy. The performance is accordingly: after 8.5 seconds, the 1,805-kilogram estate reaches country-road speed from a standstill and tops out at 180 km/h. So that fits. The same applies to the average consumption of 1.7 liters per 100 kilometers. We averaged 5.8 l/100 km, but we were also moving faster on motorways. DC charging power is fine at 26 kW; at a wallbox it’s a maximum of 6.6 kW.