If an electric sedan is on your shortlist, the BYD Seal is likely to be on it. This piece sets out the costs you can put a number on: the list price, the COE, road tax and car insurance. It then covers the costs that only you can estimate.
The insurance figures are examples for one stated driver, read on 20 October 2026. They show how prices compare. They are not a quote for you.
Which Seal you are looking at
The new-car list read on 2026-10-10 has two versions of the Seal on sale. Both are electric sedans, made in China:
- Seal Electric Dynamic [100kW] 61.4 kWh: electric, 134bhp
- Seal Electric Premium 82.6 kWh: electric, 308bhp
The gap in power between the two is large, and it matters for road tax and the COE, as the sections below show.
The insurance prices below are for the fully electric BYD SEAL Premium. That is the version most insurers on our quote form price. The form also lists the 1.5 DM-i Dynamic and 1.5 DM-i Premium, both 1,498cc.
List prices on the day
These are as listed on 2026-10-10, with COE included in the list price that day:
- Seal Electric Dynamic [100kW] 61.4 kWh: S$199,888
- Seal Electric Premium 82.6 kWh: S$219,888
A list price moves with each COE round. Ask what a quoted price includes before you set two offers side by side.
Which COE it needs
For an electric car, the COE category turns on the motor's power. A fully electric Seal needs a Category A COE if its motor is 110kW (147bhp) or less. It needs a Category B COE if it is more powerful.
In the October 2026 1st round, Category A closed at S$130,001 and Category B at S$130,100. The results change every round. The COE page carries the latest.
Road tax on an electric motor
Electric cars pay road tax by motor power, not engine size. LTA's formula, checked on 2026-10-19, gives these yearly sums before any age surcharge:
- 134bhp (100kW) motor: S$1,501.56 a year
- 308bhp (230kW) motor: S$2,264.00 a year
So the more powerful Seal pays noticeably more each year. Once a car passes 10 years old, a surcharge applies:
- Over 10 years: +10%
- Over 11 years: +20%
- Over 12 years: +30%
- Over 13 years: +40%
- Over 14 years: +50%
The road tax page has the sums for other motors and engines, including the 1,498cc DM-i versions on our quote form.
Insuring the Seal for a typical driver
The BYD Seal price page prices one fixed case:
- Car: BYD SEAL Premium, electric, registered 3 years ago, private use, comprehensive cover
- Driver: aged 40, married, office job, 10 to 19 years of driving
- Record: 50% no-claim discount (NCD) and no claims
- Repairs: authorised workshop, no add-ons
11 insurers price that case. The lowest premium is S$861.20. The insurer whose lowest plan costs most asks at least S$2,571.56. That is S$1,710.36 more, or 199% on top. Every price includes 9% GST.
Read the plan names as well as the prices. The lowest figure here is for a plan called collision only. The next plan up from the same source, a complete plan, is S$1,100.89. Check what each plan leaves out before you treat two prices as equal.
Excess on these plans
The excess is the share of a claim you pay first. On this page it runs from S$0 to S$3,000. Many plans sit at S$600, and others at S$750, S$800, S$900 or S$2,500. A low premium with a S$2,500 or S$3,000 excess can cost more the first time you claim.
Who does not price it online
Five insurers on our panel have no online price for this Seal. Some do not price electric cars online. One prices only repairs at any workshop, which this case does not use.
What moves the premium
The price page re-prices the Seal with one detail changed at a time. These are the lowest prices in each case:
- No NCD (0%): S$1,813.05, S$951.85 more
- 20% NCD: S$1,450.43, S$589.23 more
- Driver aged 27, 3 years' driving, 30% NCD: S$1,848.33, S$987.13 more
- Driver aged 65, 20 or more years' driving: S$1,057.76, S$196.56 more
- A new car, registered this year: S$1,418.79, S$557.59 more
- A car 8 years old: S$847.88, S$13.32 less
The younger driver's case moves the most, 115% above the standard case. Losing the NCD comes close behind. A brand-new Seal also costs a good deal more to insure than a 3-year-old one in these figures. These are lowest prices only. Other plans may move by different amounts.
Next to other electric cars
The price page sets the Seal beside six other electric cars, for the same driver and car age. Lowest prices:
- Audi e-tron Electric: S$1,505.85
- Tesla Model Y: S$1,147.48
- Tesla Model 3: S$1,093.31
- Kia EV6: S$1,038.46
- Mercedes-Benz EQA: S$1,005.26
- Hyundai Ioniq 5: S$954.21
Their average lowest price is S$1,124.10. The Seal sits 23% below it, and none of the six is lower. Other BYD models are on the BYD car insurance page.
The costs that are yours to estimate
Some costs depend on how and where you use the car, so no single figure fits:
- Charging: home charging, if your block or condo has it, or public chargers. Rates and access vary by location.
- Parking: season parking at your HDB block or condo, plus work, malls and the street.
- ERP: set by your routes and the time of day you travel.
- Servicing and tyres: follow the maker's schedule. Ask what the warranty and any service package cover, including the battery.
- Depreciation: what the car loses over its COE life depends on the price you pay and what it fetches later.
Summary of yearly costs we can show
For the electric BYD SEAL Premium case, with dates as shown:
- Road tax: S$1,501.56 (134bhp) or S$2,264.00 (308bhp) a year, before any surcharge (checked 2026-10-19)
- Insurance, standard driver: from S$861.20 a year (20 October 2026)
- Insurance, driver aged 27: from S$1,848.33
- Insurance, no NCD: from S$1,813.05
- Insurance, a car 8 years old: from S$847.88
One-off costs for reference: list prices from S$199,888 as listed on 2026-10-10, and a COE of S$130,001 (Category A) or S$130,100 (Category B) in the October 2026 1st round.
Before you buy: car insurance for the BYD Seal
Before you drive off, get your car insurance through Shenton Brokers. Compare car insurance for the BYD Seal to see today's prices from every insurer we compare and how they change with the driver and the car's age. Or get a quote with your own details.