BYD has released the first pictures of its crucial challenger to the Cupra Born and Volkswagen ID 3, called the Seal 06 GT.

Previewed by the Ocean M concept at the Beijing motor show earlier this year, the Seal 06 GT will plug the gap between the brand’s Dolphin hatchback and Seal saloon.

The design has been toned down compared with the Ocean M, losing that car’s aggressive splitters, side skirts and spoiler – although the Alfa Romeo Teledial-style alloy wheels remain.

Inside, it draws strongly on the Seal saloon, with a large infotainment touchscreen taking centre stage on the dashboard. This display is used to operate most functions, such as the climate control, but physical buttons remain on the centre console for safety-critical features such as the window demisters.

The Seal 06 GT uses a new development of the e-Platform 3.0 architecture that underpins the Dophin and Seal saloon, drawing power from a new generation of cell-to-body battery packs.

BYD will unveil technical specifications for the new car in full on Friday 30 August, when it goes on sale in China.

It is likely that the spec will broadly match that of the Seal saloon’s recent facelift, which brought more powerful 800V electricals, and therefore faster charging, but also a slight reduction in range.

According to China’s CLTC test cycle, the saloon will now do 404 miles between charges, down from 435 miles. That suggests it may yield around 320 miles on the stricter WLTP test used in Europe.

The saloon is offered with a single-motor powertrain that sends 308bhp through the rear wheels as well as a dual-motor set-up with 523bhp and four-wheel drive. Should the Seal 06 GT use the former, it would rival several electric hot hatches including the Born VZ and ID 3 GTX.