Peter Lyon
November 14, 2024
No, it’s not the BMW M6 folks. It’s the BYD M6 and boy is it popular in Malaysia. The M6 all-electric seven-seater MPV was introduced by BYD in Malaysia just a month ago, and since then, it has already sold more than 1,000 units.
Jeffrey Gan, Managing Director of Sime Darby Motors, Southeast Asia, made this timely announcement at the recent BYD Sealion 7 launch in Malaysia. With the introduction, Malaysia becomes the first nation in the SE Asian region to receive this brand-new electric car.
Gan said that more than 11,000 BYD vehicles have been registered in Malaysia since the Chinese automaker’s founding there two years ago, securing its place as the top-selling battery electric vehicle (BEV) brand in the nation.
The Standard and Extended versions of the BYD M6 are priced fro, RM109,800 on the road. The M6 Standard has a 420 km NEDC-rated range from it 55.4 kWh battery. With a 530 km (NEDC) range and a 71.8 kWh battery, the Extended version travels even farther. There are two different powertrains: the Standard has a front-mounted electric motor that produces 163 horsepower and 310 Nm, while the Extended has an upgraded motor that produces 204 horsepower.
The BYD Sealion 7, the company’s most recent model, comes in two different versions: Premium and Performance. The Premium version costs RM183,800, while the Performance version will set you back RM199,800.
Both Sealion 7 models have an 82.5 kWh battery pack and a NEDC-rated range of 542 km for the Performance variant and 567 km for the Premium option. The Premium model has a single electric motor located at the rear that generates 313 horsepower and 380 Nm. In contrast, the Performance model has a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system that produces a gutsier 530 horsepower and 690 Nm.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
To be bluntly honest, as a minivan, the M6 is not much to look at. Its designer just seemed to have gone through the motions in creating that rather bland, conservative exterior—not that there’s anything wrong with the silhouette. It’s just that the overall shape is very conservative and unadventurous. Luckily it delivers in range, charging infrastructure and interior appointments as well as cost performance so it could do quite well against its rivals.
