BYD launched the second-generation Seagull in China from 65,900 yuan, with flash charging on the 420 km trims

BYD launched the second-generation Seagull in China on 20 October 2026, at official guide prices from 65,900 yuan to 99,900 yuan. CnEVPost reported the launch event in Zhengzhou, Henan, that Tuesday. EV reported the venue as the Zhengzhou International Circuit. Both put the car in five variants. The flash-charging claim applies to three of them, not to the whole range.

CnEVPost lists the guide prices as 65,900 yuan for Vitality, 72,900 for Freedom, 75,900 for Comfort, 82,900 for Flying, and 99,900 for Smart. It says the previous generation's 2026 model year started at 69,900 yuan in May, so the new entry price is 4,000 yuan lower. It also lists trade-in prices from 62,900 yuan to 96,900 yuan, a 3,000 yuan cut on each guide price. EV reported the same five prices, the same 4,000 yuan gap to the May car, and the same 3,000 yuan trade-in. Electrek reported the regular range as 65,900 to 99,900 yuan and the trade-in starting price as 62,900 yuan. CnEVPost converted 65,900 yuan to $9,810 at 6.7200 yuan to the dollar. Electrek printed about $9,900 to $15,000. Those conversions are not a second price list.

The body is larger, and the drive layout has changed. CnEVPost says the car measures 4,205 mm long, 1,810 mm wide, and 1,570 mm high, with a wheelbase of 2,650 mm. It is 425 mm longer than its predecessor, with a wheelbase 150 mm longer, and seating goes from four to five. Electrek and EV print those same dimensions and the same two increases. CnEVPost says there is a 94-liter front trunk and up to 1,380 liters behind the rear seats when they are folded. The powertrain moves from a front motor and front-wheel drive to a rear motor and rear-wheel drive, and the rear suspension moves from a torsion beam to an independent multi-link setup. CnEVPost says the 320 km variants use an 85 kW motor and the 420 km variants a 95 kW motor, against 55 kW in the previous generation. Electrek reports the same outputs.

The two batteries are where flash charging starts and stops. CnEVPost says Comfort, Flying, and Smart, the variants from 75,900 yuan, each have a 39.2 kWh pack and a CLTC range of 420 km, and that those three can charge from 10 percent to 70 percent in 5 minutes at dedicated stations. Vitality and Freedom use a 30.1 kWh pack, a CLTC range of 320 km, and do not have flash charging. EV reported the same split, citing Autohome for the pack sizes and IT Home for the five-minute window. Electrek also reported 10 percent to 70 percent in five minutes, and it described both packs as Blade 2.0 lithium-iron-phosphate batteries. CnEVPost's launch figures give the capacities and the CLTC ranges without using the Blade 2.0 name. Electrek additionally wrote that a full recharge, 10 percent to 97 percent, takes nine minutes, and that at -30 degrees Celsius a charge from 20 percent to 97 percent takes 12 minutes. Those two times are in Electrek's account. They are not in CnEVPost's.

What buyers are offered on top of the car is not described the same way. CnEVPost says buyers of the three higher variants, if the car is not used commercially, get one year of free charging at BYD flash-charging stations from the delivery date. EV quoted Zhang Zhuo, general manager of BYD's Ocean Network sales division, as saying at the event: "Starting today, every purchase comes with 12 months of free flash charging, with no limit on electricity." That quote, as EV prints it, does not limit the year to the three higher trims. EV also wrote that buyers of the two 320 km versions get a 7 kW home charger with free installation within two years of delivery. This desk is not choosing between the two descriptions of the free year.

The station count behind that offer is a remark at the launch, plus an older milestone reported two days later. EV wrote that Zhang said BYD had built 12,165 flash-charging stations as of that Tuesday and plans to reach 20,000 by the end of the year. CarNewsChina, in a 22 October story about a Chery charger, wrote that BYD hit 10,000 Flash Charging stations in late August and aims to reach 20,000 before the end of 2026. No BYD filing cited here ties 12,165 to the August count of 10,000.

Sales of the outgoing car were still large, and still down for the year. CnEVPost says Seagull sales were 38,650 in September, up 11.75 percent from a year earlier, and 265,901 in the first nine months, down 33.22 percent. It says the model sold 529,537 units in 2025, and about 1.55 million from its April 2023 debut through September 2026. EV reported the same September, nine-month, and 2025 totals. The cumulative figure is CnEVPost's.

EV says BYD has not said whether this generation will be sold outside China. The first generation is sold in Europe as the Dolphin Surf. Electrek wrote that an overseas version is expected, likely as the Dolphin Surf or Dolphin Mini. That is Electrek's expectation, not a BYD announcement in these reports.

Analysis

The guide prices, the 39.2 kWh and 420 km CLTC figures, and the 10 to 70 percent claim in five minutes are the launch specifications as CnEVPost, EV, and Electrek reported them. CLTC is the range label those reports use. It is not a U.S. test cycle, and none of the three stories prints an EPA figure. The 12,165 stations are one outlet's report of what Zhang said on 20 October. They are not the late-August 10,000 figure, and they are not the 20,000 year-end target.