Updated BYD Seagull for MY26 is available with the brand’s DiPilot 300 driver assistance package
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- BYD has rolled out a revised version of the little Seagull hatch in China.
- The tiny EV starts at $10,300, or $13,400 with BYD’s DiPilot 300 ADAS.
- DiPilot 300 isn’t fully autonomous, but can handle city streets, stoplights.
Though camera-loving Tesla swears otherwise, most experts agree that Lidar is the gold standard of driver assistance sensing technology. It’s better at judging distances and detecting unlit objects than cameras, and sees in more detail than radars. But it’s also expensive, or at least it is in Europe and America, where it’s restricted to $100k+ luxury cars. In China, though, you can now get it on a $10,000 micro EV.
BYD has just refreshed its Seagull subcompact for its domestic market. The Seagull is the tiny 3,780 mm (148.8 inches) electric hatch sold as the Dolphin Surf in Europe. For MY26 there are a couple of new colors, Mango Orange and Mint Green, fresh 16-inch Starlight wheels and new LED taillights, though the 74 hp (75 PS / 55 kW) powertrain is carried over.
Related: BMW Removes Level 3 Self-Driving Tech From New 7-Series
But the big news is the availability of a driver assistance system that combines a Lidar sensor with more commonly available radar and camera-type sensors. The Lidar tech comes as part of the optional DiPilot 300, an ADAS system that’s the mid-point of three BYD “God’s Eye” assistance packages. You can tell if the Seagull you’re looking at has DiPilot 300 because it looks like someone’s grafted on the roof snorkel from a McLaren 675LT.
A base Seagull Vitality Edition with the smaller 30.1 kWh battery and 190-mile (305 km) range costs ¥69,900 ($10,300), Car News China reports, while the poshest Flying Edition with a bigger 38.9 kWh power pack and 252-mile (405 km) range runs to ¥85,900 ($12,600). But add on the DiPilot 300 option and those prices jump significantly to ¥90,900 ($13,400) and ¥97,900 yuan ($14,400).
Lidar Works, But At A Price
A $3,100 option on a $10,300 car is kind of crazy, but then Lidar is expensive. That’s why BMW and Mercedes, who both previously offered the technology as part of their hands-off Level 3 assistance packages on their 7-Series and S-Class flagships, have dropped the circa-$7k options from the newest version of those cars.
Instead, both German brands are switching their attention to Level 2 systems that still require drivers to look at the road, but unlike the Level 3 systems – which were restricted to freeways – can operate hands-free in urban environments. Both brands will return to L3 tech at a later date.
Despite the presence of a Lidar sensor, the Seagull’s DiPilot 300 is also an advanced Level 2 system, not Level 3. But BYD is talking about L3 as a future development for some of its cars, and you wouldn’t want to bet against even the humblest models like the Seagull getting it in a few years.
