ACMobility, the motoring arm of the Ayala Group of Companies, and BYD Cars Philippines finally took the wraps off the new BYD Sealion 5 DM-i in the Philippines, bringing the compact plug-in hybrid SUV to the local market.
And great news: The BYD Sealion 5 DM-i carries an aggressive introductory cash price of P1,198,000 (around $20,958) for the baseline Dynamic model. And if you’re thinking about financing, the down payment is a wallet-friendly P88,000 ($1,539). The Sealion 5 DM-i comes in four colors — Arctic White, Harbour Grey, Cosmos Black, and Deep Sea Blue — and the inside is a classy mix of beige and brown.
At 4,738 mm long with a 2,712 mm wheelbase, it physically dwarfs its price rivals. But that big size advantage isn’t just for looks. It means the inside is huge, especially in the back. You get tons of legroom, and because the floor is totally flat, even the person in the middle seat will be comfortable.
The real magic is in the electric-first powertrain. The Sealion 5 DM-i is built on BYD’s Super DM-i platform, which basically turns the car into an electric vehicle with its own built-in generator. The 1.5-liter gasoline engine’s main job isn’t to power the car, but to act as a generator, quietly sipping fuel to recharge the battery or provide a power boost when you floor it.
Official BYD Sealion 5 DM-i video
The result is performance that you can actually feel. Because all that power is available instantly, the car jumps forward when you want it to. To put a number on it, BYD says it reaches 100 km/h in a respectable 8.3 seconds. Backing up that performance is the battery, which is a big deal in its own right. This Sealion packs BYD’s 12.96 kWh Blade Battery, famous for being super safe and tough.
But just how efficient is the BYD Sealion 5 DM-i? To prove its real-world efficiency, the manufacturer had racing legends take it on a massive 1,400-kilometer road trip all over Luzon. Supervised by the AAP, they tackled highways, city streets, and mountain passes — all on just a single tank of fuel and one full battery charge — hitting an impressive average of 25.2 km/liter.
So, what’s the catch for that low price? BYD focused on the important tech and skipped a few fancy extras. You won’t find a sunroof, a powered tailgate, or a 360-degree camera here, though you still get a standard reverse camera.
Last month, ACMobility hit a significant milestone in the Philippines with the sale of its 10,000th BYD vehicle on the local market. To back up this momentum, the company is rapidly expanding from 30 active BYD dealerships today to a planned 77 by the end of 2025. And to kill charging anxiety for EV and hybrid owners, ACMobility aims to grow its charging network to over 700 stations in the same timeframe, proving they’re all in on building the future of eco-friendly and sustainable Philippine motoring.
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