BYD has been given approval to sell a third sedan model in the Australian market.

Despite the sales superiority of SUVs, BYD appears to be making a concentrated effort in the sedan space, with the Seal 7 PHEV on its way to join the Seal EV and Seal 6 PHEV already offered here.

The larger Seal 7 comes in at 4980mm long, making it 140mm longer than the smaller Seal 6, and 60mm longer than the Toyota Camry.

Like the Seal 6 sedan, the Seal 7 looks set to arrive in a single trim level, but unlike the Seal 6, which also comes in a better-equipped wagon version, the Seal 7 will arrive as a sedan only. The two-model approach may be BYD’s way of providing a better-equipped sedan to sit alongside the Seal 6 Premium wagon.

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The Seal 7 will be powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine and an electric motor, driving the front wheels. Combined system output is rated at 197kW, higher than the 130kW combined for the non-turbo PHEV Seal 6 sedan.

Full details of potential battery capacity and EV driving range for Australia aren’t listed in the approval application, but Chinese-market versions of the Seal 7, known as the Seal 07 DM-i, are offered with either a 17.6kWh or 29.5kWh battery, larger than the Seal 6 sedan’s 10.1kWh capacity.

Chinese specifications list EV-only driving range of 110km to 180km, depending on the battery. The Seal 6 sedan, meanwhile, is rated to just 55km of EV range in Australia. The Seal 06 wagon has a larger 19kWh battery and can cover 100km on electric power alone.

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In its home market, the Seal 7 comes with equipment including an in-car refrigerator, heated and ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, adaptive suspension, and semi-autonomous driving capabilities.

Despite its more premium positioning, the Seal 7 still sits one rung below the newly-revealed Seal 08 in BYD’s domestic market hierarchy, and is one of 12 sedan models in BYD’s current line-up.

While the Seal 7 has received regulatory approval for sale in Australia, BYD has yet to officially announce the vehicle as a confirmed arrival.