With sales surging in China, BYD is taking its business overseas as it looks to keep its record growth streak alive. BYD just launched its new midsize electric SUV, the Sealion 07, in another European market. Can BYD’s new electric SUV compete with Tesla’s top-selling Model Y?
BYD Sealion 07 arrives in another European market
BYD’s newest electric SUV stole the spotlight after making its European debut at the Paris Auto Show last month.
The Sealion 07 is “more than just an SUV,” according to BYD’s chief designer, Wolfgang Egger, it’s “a lifestyle statement.” Egger knows a thing or two about European design as the previous head designer of iconic brands like Audi and Lamborghini.
After launching the new Sealion 07 in other European markets earlier this month, BYD’s electric SUV is now headed to Norway.
BYD’s Sealion 07 EV is now available to order in Norway, starting at around $42,200 (NOK 469,900). The new model is only available in the Excellence trim as of right now.
Powered by a 91.3 kWh BYD Blade battery, the EV SUV offers up to 312 miles (502 km) WLTP range. It also delivers a whopping 530 hp for a 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) sprint in 4.5 seconds.
BYD launches Sealion 7 electric SUV at 2024 Paris Motor Show (Source: BYD)
You can see Egger’s influence with a sleek “Ocean Aesthetics” exterior design. The interior features a 15.6″ rotating touchscreen and a 10.25″ driver display. It’s also loaded with DiPilot 100 “God’s Eye” ADAS. The system includes 12 ultrasonic radars, five mm-wave radars, and 11 cameras for advanced drive-assist features.
BYD Sealion 7 electric SUV interior (Source: BYD)
Extending BYD’s reach in Europe
With DC fast charging of up to 230 kW, the EV can charge up (10% to 80%) in 24 minutes to get you back on the road.
BYD’s new Sealion 07 “knows how to make every journey effortless.” It can carry up to 1,789 L of luggage (with the rear seats folded down) and tow up to 3,300 lbs (1,500 kg), plenty for a small boat or trailer.
BYD Sealion 07 electric SUV launched in Norway (Source: BYD)
The electric SUV was first launched in China in May as the Sea Lion 7, starting at around $26,000 (189,900 yuan). BYD’s base Standard Range model offers up to 341 miles (550 km) CLTC range in China. The Long Range trim, starting at $27,600 (199,800 yuan), gets up to 379 miles (610 km) CLTC range.
At 4,830 mm long, 1,925 mm wide, and 1,620 mm tall, BYD’s new electric SUV is often compared to the Tesla Model Y (4,760 mm long, 1,921 mm wide, and 1,624 mm tall).
BYD Sea Lion 07 trim in China
Starting price
Range (CLTC)
550 Standard
189,800 yuan ($26,250)
550 km (341 miles)
610 Long Range
199,800 yuan ($27,625)
610 km (379 miles)
610 Smart
219,800 yuan ($30,389)
610 km (379 miles)
550 4WD Smart Navigation
239,800 yuan ($33,154)
550 km (341 miles)
BYD Sea Lion 07 prices in China
According to data from The Norwegian Council for Road Safety (OFV), Tesla’s Model Y is the best-selling EV in the country through October, with nearly 13,500 units sold. The Volvo EX30 (6,215), Volkswagen ID.4 (5,789), Tesla Model 3 (5,433), and Toyota bZ4X (5,372) round out the top five through the first ten months of 2024.
The Sealion 07 is BYD’s eighth vehicle to launch in Europe, joining the popular Dolphin, Seal, Seal U, and Atto 3 models.
BYD Sealion 07 electric SUV launches in Norway (Source: BYD)
BYD’s executive vice president, Stella Li, said the new midsize electric SUV “shows how BYD is reacting to customer demand and tastes.” Li believes it will “extend” BYD’s reach in Europe.
According to data from CnEVPost, BYD sold 19,232 Sealion series models in October alone, up 65% from September.
European deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2025. Can BYD’s new electric SUV compete with Tesla’s Model Y or the Volvo EX30? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
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The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
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Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
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Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
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Vietnamese solar panel maker Boviet Solar just opened the doors to its first US factory — a huge new PV module plant in Greenville, North Carolina.
The company dropped $294 million into the state-of-the-art facility, which will pump out Boviet’s Gamma Series monofacial and Vega Series bifacial solar panels. They’re using advanced PERC and N-Type solar cell tech, which basically means these panels are built to deliver higher efficiency and better performance across residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale projects.
The Greenville factory’s first phase is now online with an annual PV module output capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW). For Phase 2, which is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2026, Boviet will invest another $100 million to add 600,000 square feet and ramp up to another 2 GW. It will make high-efficiency solar cells.
Once both phases are complete, Boviet’s campus will cover more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and R&D space. It’s one of the biggest clean energy manufacturing projects North Carolina has ever seen.
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The jobs impact is significant, too. The first phase will create 460 skilled local jobs. Phase 2 is expected to add another 908, bringing the total to over 1,300 direct jobs, plus nearly 2,000 more indirect jobs across the region. That’s good news for Pitt County’s economy, real estate market, and workforce training programs.
“This facility is not just creating jobs, but creating opportunity, innovation, and a stronger foundation for eastern North Carolina,” said Senator Kandie Smith. Governor Josh Stein added that Boviet Solar’s move shows how North Carolina is leading the way in clean energy growth.
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