The Seal AWD Excellence takes 36 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent on DC and about 8.3 hours to fill at home on an 11 kW wallbox. At the EU average residential rate that is roughly €24.10 for a full charge and €4.86 per 100 km, against €13.26 for a petrol car covering the same distance.
How long it takes to charge
| Where | Power | Time | What that is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home, Level 2 | 7.4 kW | 12.4 hours | Empty to full, overnight |
| Home, Level 2 | 11.0 kW | 8.3 hours | Empty to full, overnight |
| Public DC, at its peak | 150 kW | 36 min | 10 to 80 per cent — the figure to compare cars on |
| Public DC station | 50 kW | ≈ 69 min est | 10 to 80 per cent, held back by the station |
| Public DC station | 150 kW | ≈ 36 min | 10 to 80 per cent — the car reaches its own limit here, not the station |
| Public DC station | 350 kW | ≈ 36 min | 10 to 80 per cent — the car reaches its own limit here, not the station |
What it costs to charge
| Charging at | Rate | Full charge | Per 100 km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | €0.263/kWh | €24.10 | €4.86 |
| Public DC fast charging | €0.59/kWh | €48.68 | €10.92 |
| A petrol car, for comparison | €2.09/L | — | €14.21 |
Assumptions, all editable in the running-cost calculator: €0.263/kWh at home (Eurostat EU household average) and €0.59/kWh on public DC, against petrol at €2.09 a litre and 6.8 litres per 100 km. Charging is about 90 per cent efficient, so putting 82.5 kWh into this battery costs 91.7 kWh at the meter — 9.2 kWh that never reaches the pack. The rated consumption figures are measured at the wall already and need no such correction. This car has no EPA rating because it is not sold in the United States, so the figures here are WLTP.
Over 13,000 km a year — the EU average — that is €632.27 of electricity charging at home, against €1,847.56 of petrol in the comparison car: a difference of €1,215.29 a year.
Why this page is in euros
The Seal is not sold in the United States, so it has no EPA rating, and there is no honest way to quote it in dollars per mile. The figures above come from its WLTP combined consumption instead, priced at the Eurostat household electricity average. Both ratings are measured at the wall, so both already include charging losses. What the two test cycles do and do not have in common is set out in EPA versus WLTP range.
The slowest rapid charge here, bar one
36 minutes is a long stop. Only the Nissan Ariya is slower, at 48. The Seal peaks at 150 kW, reaches that 36-minute window at a 150 kW post, and gains nothing at all from a 350 kW one – so on a road trip the queue matters more than the sticker on the charger.
Its pack runs at 550 volts, which is higher than the 400-volt norm and nowhere near the 800-volt Korean cars. That gap is worth stating plainly, because voltage is routinely sold as the thing that decides charging speed and it is not: what decides it is how long the car holds high power before it tapers. The cars that do have the 800-volt architecture are listed on 800-volt electric cars, and why the peak kW number misleads is in what a 10-80% charge time tells you.
The 10-80 figure understates this car
Every car on this site is compared on the same 10 to 80 per cent window, because that is the part of the curve a nickel-based pack is willing to repeat. The Seal’s pack is LFP, and LFP does not mind being filled. BYD specifies a full charge for it, which means the 82.5 kWh in the table is genuinely available rather than a number you are advised to stay below.
So the honest reading of 36 minutes is: slower per stop, but you arrive at the stop with more of the pack behind you and you can leave with all of it. Whether that trade suits you depends on whether your long drives are one 500 km run or five 150 km ones. The chemistry argument is in full on should you charge an EV to 100%, and the cars that share it are on electric cars with LFP batteries.
At 82.5 kWh usable it is the largest LFP pack on this site – the other three are 72.6 kWh and smaller. That combination is still unusual: LFP is normally the chemistry of the cheap short-range car, and here it is carrying a long-range one.
What it actually costs to run
At 185 Wh per km the Seal is one of the thirstier cars on this site, and it still costs €4.86 per 100 km at home against €13.26 for petrol. Over 13,000 km a year – roughly the EU average – that is about €632 of electricity against €1,724 of petrol, a difference of about €1,092 a year.
On public rapid chargers at €0.59/kWh the same 100 km costs €10.92. That is still under petrol, but only just, and it is the number to plan around if you cannot charge at home. Both rates are editable in the running-cost calculator.
Kilometres of range per hour, at every charger
The tables above answer “how long does a full charge take”. The question most drivers actually have at a plug is different: how much range goes in per hour, and how long until the next 100 km are on the clock. This table answers that for every kind of charger, from a household socket to a 350 kW station, using the same figures as the rest of the page — the WLTP figure of 185 Wh per km, measured at the wall, and the measured 36-minute 10-80 per cent time. Rated range is used throughout; in winter, or at motorway speed, every row shrinks by the same proportion.
| Charger | Power at the car | km per hour | Add 100 km | Empty to full | What sets the rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic socket (230 V, 10 A) | 2.3 kW | 12 km/h | 8 h 3 min | 39 h 51 min | the WLTP figure, measured at the wall |
| Home wallbox | 7.4 kW | 40 km/h | 2 h 30 min | 12 h 23 min | the WLTP figure, measured at the wall |
| Home wallbox | 11.0 kW | 59 km/h | 1 h 41 min | 8 h 20 min | the WLTP figure, measured at the wall |
| Public DC station | 50 kW | 315 km/h | 19 min | — | held back by the station (estimate) |
| Public DC station | 150 kW | 607 km/h | 10 min | — | the car’s own 36-minute 10-80 curve is the limit |
| Public DC station | 350 kW | 607 km/h | 10 min | — | the car’s own 36-minute 10-80 curve is the limit |
A domestic socket adds about 12 km an hour — 124 km in a ten-hour overnight stop, enough for a commute and not for much else. A 7.4 kW wallbox raises that to 40 km an hour, so 100 km takes 2 h 30 min and the car is full from empty in 12 h 23 min. On DC the useful figure is 607 km an hour at a 150 kW post, and a 350 kW station does not raise it because the car’s own curve is the limit from 150 kW up — 100 km in 10 min. The 50 kW row is the one to remember on a road trip: the station, not the car, sets the pace, and 100 km takes 19 min.
Where these numbers will mislead you
The tariff is an EU average, and there is no such place. National household rates across the EU differ by more than a factor of two. The shape of the answer holds everywhere; the euro figure does not.
Cold. The 36 minutes assumes a battery at a sensible temperature. LFP is more temperature-sensitive than nickel chemistry in the cold, and a cold cabin spends more of what you put in.
The home figure assumes a wallbox. On a domestic socket rather than the 7.4 kW or 11 kW supplies in the table, a full charge takes well over a day.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to charge a BYD Seal?
About 36 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent on a 150 kW or faster DC station, and roughly 8.3 hours from empty on an 11 kW home wallbox – about 12.4 hours on a 7.4 kW single-phase supply.
How much does it cost to charge a BYD Seal?
About €24.10 for a full charge at the EU average residential rate, or roughly €4.86 per 100 km – around €632 a year over 13,000 km, against about €1,724 of petrol.
Can you charge a BYD Seal to 100 per cent?
Yes. The pack is LFP, a chemistry that tolerates a full charge as routine rather than as an occasional exception, which is why the 82.5 kWh usable figure is available in practice and not only on paper.
Do I need a 350 kW charger for a BYD Seal?
No. It peaks at 150 kW and reaches its full 10-80 speed on a 150 kW station, so a faster post buys it nothing.
Sources
Figures are credited individually on the BYD Seal AWD Excellence page. Tariff assumptions are on the methodology page.