The local chapter of the BYD Club held its inaugural event, EV Fest, on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at the Tranquillity Gardens, Dunn’s River Falls & Park, St Ann, hosted by BYD Jamaica.

“The cliché thing to say is that it’s a great event, but if I’m being brutally honest I didn’t expect this much people, and if we had tried to put this event on last year we’d have nowhere close to these numbers,” Sloane Jackson, head of business — BYD Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer’s weekly Auto magazine.

The world’s #1 new energy brand has replicated that success here in Jamaica as the #1 electric vehicle brand of choice, which became even more apparent as over 125 individuals took up the opportunity to meet at the idyllic St Ann venue and mingle with their fellow BYD owners.

“We wanted to do something specific for Jamaica,” said Jackson.

The BYD Global Owners Club supports all enthusiasts and owners of BYD electric vehicles across the world, with local chapters in countries such as the United Kingdom and Malaysia, to name a few.

Jamaica now joins this with EV Fest. Jackson hopes to expand the group in the long term and include the brand’s off-road capable models.

Owners and invited guests were part of a dual convoy originating from the Kingston and Montego Bay showrooms. Upon reaching the location, the BYD faithful were met with plenty to do. From family friendly games, trivia contests with prizes, food, drink, music, and charging information, attendees were occupied to the end of the event.

The star of the show was the début of the single motor version of the BYD Sealion 7 SUV.

“The Sealion 7 rear-wheel drive is a huge deal for us. It’s our largest SUV for under $10 million. You get six years free service, six years warranty, eight years battery warranty, which you get on all BYD products,” explained Jackson.

More importantly for potential buyers, Jackson explained that other than the horsepower reduction, due to the rear-wheel drive trim only having one electric motor, there are precious few differences between the more expensive all-wheel drive version.

“It has the exact same specifications as the all-wheel drive Sealion 7. The differences are 19-inch rims versus 20-inch rims, but the exact same design. The all-wheel drive Sealion 7 has red callipers, instead of silver, and that’s it. Everything else is the same. Of course, all-wheel drive versus rear-wheel drive, and 530bhp versus 313bhp, but you do get more range in the rear-wheel drive Sealion 7,” Jackson explained.

The Sealion 7 rear-wheel drive is one of two vehicles that BYD Jamaica will launch in 2025 with the brand planning to move into the extremely competitive subcompact SUV segment with the under $5million Yuan Pro in the coming months.

“The Yuan Pro is an amazing SUV, at an amazing price point, making it an amazing product. It’s going to speak to a whole different dynamic, so in that way it’s opening a new channel for us,” said Jackson.

BYDs as far as the eyes could see on the road convoy to Tranquility Gardens at Dunn’s River Falls & Park, St Ann for the inaugural BYD Club event on Saturday, August 30. (Photo: Rory Daley)

Guests check out BYD’s flagship, the Sealion 7, in its various trim levels. (Photo: Rory Daley)

From left: Sloane Jackson, head of business, BYD Jamaica, enjoys a moment with his daughter Zahra and Kellise Wong, group marketing manger, ATL Automotive, at the inaugural BYD Club event held on Saturday, August 30, at Tranquility Gardens, Dunn’s River Falls & Park, St Ann. (Photo: Rory Daley)

The Sealion 7, two-wheel drive, features most of the elements of the all-wheel drive version. (Photo: Rory Daley)