Chinese automotive and technology giant BYD will enter India's plug-in hybrid vehicle segment later this year with the Seal U, marking an expansion of its strategy beyond pure battery-electric vehicles.
"We will have our first car on this platform, DM-I technology, within this year and that car will be Seal," Rajeev Chauhan, head of electric passenger vehicle business at BYD India, said while unveiling its DM-i plug-in hybrid technology here on Wednesday.
The launch will mark BYD India's first entry into the plug-in hybrid segment after focusing exclusively on electric vehicles since it began passenger vehicle operations in the country in 2021. The company currently sells four electric models in India – Atto 3, Seal, eMAX 7 and Sealion 7.
"Since then in last 5 years, it has been 5 products... we have built all of this on to electric platform and today we are choosing a second path and this is as I said, first for India," Chauhan said.
The company is positioning its plug-in hybrid technology as an "electric-first" solution to customers seeking the benefits of electric mobility without concerns over long-distance travel.
BYD said the DM-i technology differs from conventional hybrid systems because the vehicle is designed to operate primarily as an electric vehicle, with the petrol engine providing support when required.
"The simplest way we define this category is that this is an electric first vehicle, you drive essentially on electricity," Chauhan said.
BYD has been developing plug-in hybrid technology for nearly two decades and says it introduced the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2008.
The company claims to have sold more than 8 million vehicles based on the technology globally, making it one of the world's largest plug-in hybrid manufacturers.
Chauhan said the introduction of DM-i remains consistent with BYD's broader focus on new-energy vehicles and is intended to bring more customers into electrified mobility.
"This car is not a path that we are straying from. This is a path which is consistent with our philosophy of new energy vehicle," he said. "More customers into the fold where the customer experiences electric first driving. So, that is the main idea."
BYD currently imports semi-knocked down kits and assembles them at its facility in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.