Chinese brand continues range expansion with big, plug-in hybrid estate to rival Skoda Superb
The demise of the family estate appears to have been exaggerated. Volvo, having flirted with killing the format off, is back in the game; the German premium clique, plus Peugeot and Skoda among others, can still be relied on; and now there is a new wave of wagons arriving on our shores.One of the newbies will be the recently announced Kia K4 Sportswagon, due on sale later in 2026 at less than £30k if you opt for the three-cylinder mild hybrid. Another is the subject of this road test: the new BYD Seal 6 DM-i, which is also available as a saloon but is, we think, much more interesting as an estate that directly rivals the Skoda Superb – an Autocar five-star car.Can the well-priced BYD score a tactical strike? We’ll soon find out. Now, the nomenclature bears clarifying. BYD’s line-up in the UK currently consists of two branches. On one side there are pure electric cars, and on the other plug-in hybrids that use the company’s ‘Dual Mode-intelligent’ powertrain. While there is already a Seal that takes the form of an EV saloon, the Seal 6 DM-i is styled differently and, as the name suggests, is one of the PHEVs. The two cars are broadly unrelated but share some architecture.The arrival of the Seal 6 DM-i takes BYD’s total number of models on sale in the UK to nine. In January 2023, the figure was zero. The company’s growth has been rapid, and on a global scale BYD has now overtaken Tesla to become the world’s biggest electric car maker. The 2.26 million EVs it sold in 2025 marked a 28% increase on 2024. Truly the mind boggles at what the European stalwarts would give to achieve such a grand statistic.Keen pricing, good practicality, low running costs and an array of digital amenities have helped BYD secure its sales, particularly in the taxi and fleet sectors. The Seal 6 DM-i, with its near-1000-mile range and low CO2 looks set to continue that trend, but might it also be an excellent option for private buyers with a family to cater for? Might it, in short, give the Skoda Superb Estate something to worry about?
