2025 BYD Sealion 5 Now In PH, Priced From P1.248M

Another month, another BYD launch. In this case, what we have here is the brand-new 2025 BYD Sealion 5 DM-i. But wait a minute, don’t we already have a Sealion-branded SUV? Why yes, and it’s called the Sealion 6 DM-i. What gives?

Well, somewhere along the line, BYD has decided to turn Sealion into its line of crossover SUVs. Think Chery’s Tiggo lineup or GAC Motor’s GS range of crossover SUVs. Also, with so many aquatic animals in their lineup, BYD may as well rival Manila Ocean Park at this point.

Kidding aside, the 2025 BYD Sealion 5 DM-i is a plug-in hybrid crossover SUV that’s set to compete in the subcompact segment. And yet with a length of 4,738 mm, it dwarfs literally all of its similarly priced Japanese rivals, the Yaris Cross and Kicks e-Power.

That larger footprint also has one advantage for the Sealion 5 DM-i, and that is design. Okay, so it’s not necessarily what I would call striking, but it is well proportioned and modern to look at. The front end has a striking satin silver front grille, along with a hexagonal grille with a mesh pattern. This is flanked by slim LED headlights, too.

Moving towards the side, the Sealion 5 DM-i’s lengthy proportions help in giving it a more planted stance. In typical BYD fashion, it comes with an NFC receiver at the side mirrors, while the windows feature a satin silver trim piece that somehow resembles fish scales—a nod to BYD’s so-called Ocean Series of vehicles. Lastly, the rear end of the Sealion 5 DM-i comes with full-width LED tailights that are very much in vogue these days.

Inside the 2025 BYD Sealion 5 DM-i, the interior layout is standard BYD fare. You’ve got an 8.8-inch fully-digital gauge cluster, along with a 10.1-inch rotating touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The interior is unsurprisingly devoid of physical controls, but on the upside, the interior feels far more premium than what its rivals, or its price tag, may suggest.

Other features worth highlighting include leatherette upholstery, a reverse camera, and a tire pressure sensor. However, while most BYDs come with the DiPilot suite of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), the Sealion 5 DM-i doesn’t have any. Not a deal breaker for us, since it has all the necessary safety gear like a full suite of airbags, electronic stability control, just to name a few.

Powering the 2025 BYD Sealion 5 DM-i is a familiar 1.5-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine and an electric motor whose total system output is 197 horsepower and 300 Nm of torque. This is good enough for a 0-100 kph time of 8.3 seconds.

Thanks to the 12.9 kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) Blade battery, the Sealion 5 DM-i has a CLTC-rated pure electric range of 71 kilometers. Combined with the 52-liter fuel tank, the Sealion 5 DM-i has a total driving range of 1,001 km. The battery can be charged at up to 3.3 kW in AC as well.

Part of BYD’s disruption in the Philippine automotive industry is how it’s able to undercut its competition significantly. In this case, the 2025 BYD Sealion 5 DM-i will be sold for a highly competitive price of P1,248,000, severely undercutting the smaller Yaris Cross Hybrid and priced alongside the smaller Kicks e-Power. However, for a limited time, the Sealion 5 DM-i has an introductory price of just P1,198,000. BYD Cars Philippines didn’t say how long this introductory price will last, though.