BYD Sea Lion 08 and Li Auto MEGA Home launch on Sept. 2

The Sea Lion 08 is the largest and highest-positioned SUV in BYD's Ocean series, ifanr said. It is offered in eight variants. Plug-in hybrid models cost 229,900 yuan to 269,900 yuan, and battery-electric models cost 239,900 yuan to 279,900 yuan. The vehicle is 5,115 mm long, 1,999 mm wide and 1,800 mm tall with a 3,030-mm wheelbase.

On the outside, the Sea Lion 08 uses BYD's Ocean Aesthetics 2.0 language, with a full-width daytime-running-light strip, split headlamps, semi-hidden door handles, rear privacy glass and a through-type tail lamp that is 1,982 mm long. The interior has a wrap-around cockpit with a suspended central screen and an embedded instrument panel. A 2+2+2 six-seat layout is offered, with independent second-row seats; the right seat slides laterally and provides zero-gravity mode, ventilation, heating, massage and an electric leg rest. A five-seat version is also available. Cabin equipment includes a 21.4-inch rear ceiling screen, a 25-speaker Devialet audio system, Dolby Atmos, three-zone climate control and a 7.3-liter hot-and-cold refrigerator.

The SUV uses double-wishbone front suspension and five-link rear suspension, with optional YunNian-A active body control, dual-chamber air springs, road preview and rear-wheel steering. The Sea Lion 08 pairs BYD's God's Eye 5.0 driver-assistance system with a lidar from RoboSense. Both the plug-in hybrid and pure-electric versions use second-generation blade batteries and support flash charging; BYD has previously described the capability as being able to charge in five minutes and be full in nine minutes.

The Sea Lion 08 DM-i uses a 1.5T plug-in hybrid system with a 115-kW engine. Its single-motor version has a 200-kW motor, while the dual-motor four-wheel-drive version has 200-kW motors at both the front and rear. CLTC pure-electric range peaks at 400 km and combined range at 1,650 km. The pure-electric Sea Lion 08 uses a 115-kWh battery. A single-motor version has a 370-kW motor, while the four-wheel-drive version combines a 215-kW front motor with a 370-kW rear motor for 585 kW of system peak power. Depending on the model, CLTC range is 800 km or 900 km.

Li Auto's new MEGA is sold in a single trim called MEGA Home, ifanr reported. Its national unified retail price is 509,800 yuan, 50,000 yuan lower than the 2025 MEGA Home. The new car is priced identically to Li Auto's new L9 Livis, another flagship model; Li Auto has positioned MEGA Home as the more family- and space-oriented choice. The vehicle has reached national retail centers, and deliveries will begin this week. Li Auto also said it will introduce a right-hand-drive version progressively in Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore and Thailand from late 2026.

The new MEGA retains the exterior shape of the model that first appeared two years ago, despite the earlier car's controversial reception. The body profile remains similar; Li Auto altered the front by making the air intake smaller, adding dark gray chrome trim and using a UWB near-field sensing system instead of traditional ultrasonic-radar openings. It also enlarged the rear window and sharpened the tail surfaces. New enclosed flying-saucer wheel covers continue to serve the car's low drag coefficient.

The cabin is the main area of change. The first two rows now have four zero-gravity positions, with dual zero-gravity seats standard at the front; the second-row rotating seats gain independent floating cushions, head pillows, waist pillows and leg pillows, and the third row adds ventilation to its heating. Heated surfaces were extended to 31 locations, including door-panel armrests and central armrests. Folding tables gained auto-leveling and anti-pinch protection. A ceiling light strip made of 396 LEDs provides 3,500K lighting, while the existing rear screen can move horizontally by 12 cm with gesture control. Optional 270-degree electrochromic glass, covering the second-row side windows, third-row side windows and rear window, costs 15,000 yuan.

MEGA Home comes standard with steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering, which shorten the turning radius from 6.2 m to 5.5 m, matching the much smaller Li i6. It also has dual-chamber air springs, dual-valve CDC dampers and an 800V active anti-roll bar. Li Auto said the car completed the ISO 3888-1 emergency lane-change test at 108 km/h and later carried out a 120 km/h extreme test. When a door opens, the body can tilt 30 mm downward in 1.5 seconds while the second-row seats rotate 45 degrees outward, a feature Li Auto calls Elephant Welcome designed to make entry easier.

Inside the technology cabin, MEGA Home has a 29-inch 6K OLED full-width front display, which Li Auto calls the world's first mass-produced automotive OLED ultra-wide screen, and a 21-inch 4K OLED rear screen. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8797 chip and uses a 9.3.6-channel audio system with 5,440 W peak power. The driver-assistance package includes two Maher M100 chips and four lidars. The car is powered by a 108-kWh ternary lithium 5C battery and dual-motor all-wheel drive, with a CLTC range of 710 km; Li Auto says a 10-minute charge adds 500 km of range.

Li Auto offers five low-saturation paint colors for the new MEGA, only one of which costs 10,000 yuan. Three wheel designs are available, including two closed flying-saucer covers in Deep Space Gray and Panda White; customers who order before Sept. 30 and choose the flying-saucer wheel receive both covers. Repeat Li Auto owners receive the electrochromic glass option for free.