A Method to Compare BYD Export Nameplates

Comparing BYD models for an overseas programme is a naming problem before it is a specification problem. Buyers who line up “the BYD SUV” against “the BYD sedan” will mix Atto 3 with Sealion 7, mix Seal the saloon with Seal U the SUV, and mix a Blade BEV with a DM-i plug-in hybrid that shares a dynasty name. The useful comparison is a method: start from the nameplates BYD actually lists on its international models page, assign each name a job and a powertrain family, then copy figures only from the destination PDF that matches a VIN. This article is that method. It uses BYD’s international model list as the catalogue of names, plus BYD UK’s 10 February 2026 ATTO 3 EVO release where a later generation must be split. It does not publish a price ladder, a stock matrix, or a country-by-country approval chart.

Start from the names BYD lists internationally

BYD’s international models page, read for this article, lists electric nameplates including ATTO 3, ATTO 2, DOLPHIN, SEAL, TANG, SEALION 7, DOLPHIN SURF, M6, and e6. It lists plug-in hybrid nameplates including SEAL U DM-i, SEAL U DM-i Touring, SEAL 6 DM-i, QIN Plus DM-i, HAN, SONG Plus DM-i, and SHARK 6. That list is a catalogue of public names, not an inventory. A name on the page does not mean a unit is available for your port. A name missing from your destination’s retail site does not mean the factory cannot build a related China-market twin. Write the public name, the China twin if you know it, and the destination site that does or does not show it. Three columns. No fourth column called “we can get it.”

China-market dynasty names and ocean names still leak into export conversations. Yuan Plus is the China-family twin of Atto 3. Song, Qin, Han, and Tang remain dynasty names that may appear as PHEV or BEV depending on the sheet. If a supplier says “Song” and the destination brochure says “Seal U,” you do not yet have a comparable pair. Demand the type-approval name and the model code. A translated nickname is not a line item.

One English word can be two cars

Seal is the easy trap. The international electric list includes SEAL as a sedan. The hybrid list includes SEAL U DM-i as an SUV and SEAL 6 DM-i as a saloon. Buyers who paste “Seal range” into one cell have already failed the comparison. Write body style in the next cell every time: hatch, compact SUV, mid SUV, saloon, MPV, pickup. If the cell is blank, the row is not ready for a specification.

Assign a job before you open a spec sheet

A comparison that starts with range will always flatter the largest pack. Start with the job instead. City-second-car, family compact SUV, motorway saloon, three-row carrier, commercial people-mover, and laden pickup are different jobs. ATTO 2 and DOLPHIN SURF sit in the small-car conversation on the international list. ATTO 3 sits in the compact family-SUV conversation. SEALION 7 sits in the larger performance-SUV conversation. TANG sits in the large-SUV conversation. M6 and e6 sit in MPV and work conversations. SHARK 6 is a pickup with a published towing figure on that international hybrid block. If two cars do not share a job, they can still appear in a catalogue, but they should not share a “winner” cell.

Seating and cargo are job evidence. BYD UK’s EVO release prints five seats, 490 litres, and a 101-litre frunk for the later Atto 3. A Tang conversation is a different seat-count conversation; do not import a five-seat boot figure into a seven-seat row. Measure or copy the figure from the sheet that names the VIN. If the sheet is silent on third-row ISOFIX, write “not stated” instead of assuming a family result.

Split BEV, PHEV, and test cycle before any number

The international page itself splits electric and hybrid blocks. Respect that split. A DM-i row needs three energy sentences if the sheet prints them: electric-only range, charge time, and a combined or fuel figure with the test cycle named. BYD’s international HAN block, as published on that page, cites 0–100 km/h in 6.9 seconds and a combined range of up to 1,350 km under DM 5.0 language. The SONG Plus DM-i block cites up to 128 km electric range and 1,500 km total CLTC range. Those combined kilometres are not BEV WLTP miles and must never appear in a BEV column. If the destination sheet uses WLTP, copy WLTP. If it uses CLTC, label CLTC. Never convert one cycle into the other as if they were equal.

BEV rows need their own three sentences: pack size, test-cycle range, and DC peak. The Atto 3 family shows why a single name fails: the Australian MY25 sheet prints 49.92 or 60.48 kWh and 345 or 420 km WLTP, while the UK EVO release prints 74.8 kWh and 317 or 292 miles WLTP combined depending on Design or Excellence. A comparison table that shows “Atto 3: 420 km” next to “Atto 3 EVO: 317 miles” without naming generation is a blended table. Split the row or delete it.

Charge hardware and software are comparison columns

Two cars with similar published range can still be incomparable for a destination. Record inlet type, AC onboard kilowatts, DC peak, and whether a heat pump is listed. Record cluster language, radio region, and whether the destination app account exists. BYD UK’s EVO release describes Google functions on that market’s 15.6-inch system. That sentence does not travel to every Atto 3. A Dolphin in one country may have a different account ecosystem from a Seal in another. Write “app account possible” only when the destination distributor says so in writing. Write “unknown” when they do not.

Assistance suites have the same problem. A name like adaptive cruise on one sheet is not a star rating on another. Copy the function list from the VIN’s PDF. Leave a blank if the PDF is silent. Do not fill the blank with a launch film from a richer trim.

How to reject a blended spreadsheet

Reject the file when any of these appear: a range figure without a test cycle; a Seal row that does not say sedan or SUV; a Song or Yuan name without a destination public name; a DM-i combined kilometre sitting in a BEV column; an EVO sprint time on an early Atto 3; a price; a “guaranteed available” cell; or a “approved in all markets” cell. Rebuild the sheet with one VIN-quality row per vehicle you might actually order. A method that produces fewer rows is working. A method that produces a colourful winner is not.

Use AutoCN after the names are clean

Once each name has a job, a powertrain family, and a PDF, you can ask a sourcing desk to collect matching quotations. AutoCN’s BYD brand page is a place to keep the name map visible. The guides cluster is a place to keep the method. Neither page is a live stock list. If you want help checking that two quotations describe the same nameplate generation, use the contact route and attach the PDFs. Do not attach a table that still mixes cycles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the international models page a complete export catalogue?

It is BYD’s public international name list as read for this article. Destinations add, drop, and rename cars. China-market twins may exist under other names. Use the page to start the name column, then confirm the destination retail site and the VIN sheet. Do not treat the page as proof that a unit will be built for your order.

Should I compare Atto 3 and Sealion 7 in one winner cell?

Only if they share the job you wrote down. They are both BYD SUVs on the electric list, but they are not the same size conversation on BYD’s own descriptions. If the job is compact family SUV, Sealion 7 may be the wrong row. If the job is a larger performance SUV, Atto 3 may be the wrong row. Comparison without a job is decoration.

How do I compare a PHEV Han with a BEV Seal?

You can compare them as saloons on seating and length if those figures come from matching-cycle sheets. You cannot compare 1,350 km combined with a BEV WLTP range as if both were electric-only range. Keep energy columns separate. If a customer needs a plug-free car, the PHEV row is a different product.

Why did this article avoid prices?

Because a price is a dated quotation for a trim, a market, and a delivery term. Publishing a global BYD price table would invent a number the next reader cannot use. Ask for a quotation after the name, job, and PDF are fixed. Keep the quotation’s date on the same row.

What if a supplier offers a China-market car under an export nickname?

Write both names and demand the model code. If they cannot produce a specification PDF that uses the same code as the plate, you are not comparing BYD models. You are comparing a nickname with a hope. Stop the row.

Finish when each row can survive a VIN

A BYD export comparison is finished when every remaining row has a public name from a current BYD list, a job, a BEV or PHEV label, a test cycle, and a PDF that would still be true if a VIN appeared tomorrow. That method will delete many pretty tables. It will also stop a dealer from selling an EVO sprint on an early Atto 3, or a CLTC combined kilometre as if it were WLTP electric range. Keep the surviving rows. Send those, not a brand poster, when you ask AutoCN or any other desk to help you source. The nameplate is the start of the work. It is not the work.