BYD has made a big splash at the Paris Motor Show with the introduction of its latest model for the European market.

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The Sealion 7 midsize fully electric SUV launches later this month, competing with the Tesla Model Y and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Already on sale in China since 2023 as the Sea Lion 07, it arrives in a European-spec version that carries over the brand’s Blade battery and cell-to-body (CTB) construction. Exact details haven’t been revealed, including battery size; the line-up in China includes 71.8kWh and 80.6kWh packs. However, BYD has confirmed that Europe will get a dual-motor all-wheel drive version that’s able to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds.

Built on BYD’s latest e-Platform 3.0 Evo, already used for the Seal saloon and Dolphin hatchback in the Ocean series of models, the Sealion 7 will also enable rapid charging speeds of up to 230kW.

BYD’s European managing director Michael Shu said: “Our customers have been showing great interest in high-performance SUVs, so today, the Sealion 7 comes to Paris. Besides its Blade Battery, cell-to-body construction and our LFP battery chemistry, it is equipped with the world’s highest-speed electric motor in mass production, with a speed of 23,000RPM and 400 revolutions every single second. We are the only company to achieve such a record.”

Due to start deliveries before the end of the year, the Sealion 7 will be the brand’s eighth “new energy” vehicle (fully electric and PHEV) to launch in Europe and its fifth in the UK.

The Chinese auto giant also highlighted its progress since the last Paris Motor Show two years ago.

Stella Li, executive vice president, said: “We keep setting new records as we progress; last month, we announced that our nine millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the production line. It took 13 years to get from zero to one million. But from seven million to nine million took us only six months.”

The brand is also building two local production facilities in the EU, including a new site in Hungary expected to build the Sealion 7 in the future.

Other highlights on the BYD stand included the Paris premiere of the Yangwang luxury sub-brand, debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in February, and the Seal U DM-I plug-in hybrid SUV that’s recently gone on sale in Europe.