Byd Sealion 7 EV Runs Out Of Charge: Towed By Toyota Fortuner Diesel To 'Recharge' [Video]

Electric vehicles are slowly becoming a common sight on our roads. With the rise in the number of EVs, we have also started seeing several incidents where EV owners find themselves in trouble after running out of charge. Here, we have one such video shared by a BYD Sealion 7 electric SUV owner, where he is towing his vehicle using a Toyota Fortuner after running out of charge.

The video has been shared by Chandra Mouli on the EV Owners Group India page on Facebook. The owner is recording the video from the driver’s seat of his electric car. Initially, we only see the large, fully digital instrument cluster of the EV. The owner then goes on to explain that during his recent trip, his car ran out of charge.

He did find a charging station on his way, but it was not operational. The SOC (State of Charge) on his car was critically low, and as the owner was not ready to take a risk, he decided to get the vehicle towed using a Toyota Fortuner. The owner gives us a quick look at the SUV in front, and from that, it is clear why he was not interested in taking the risk.

It was getting dark, and it looked like a place with no hotels or residences around. The owner mentions that when he towed the car with the Fortuner, his EV had less than 5 percent charge, and since the EV was being towed, the vehicle was also getting charged. He mentions that the range has now slowly increased from 15 km to 24 km.

We checked the owner’s profile and found that the electric SUV seen in the video is a BYD Sealion 7. It is currently the most expensive e-SUV from the brand in India. The SUV is offered in Premium and Performance variants. Both variants are powered by 82.56 kWh battery packs. The range and power output are different for both variants. The Performance variant gets a dual-motor setup, while the other comes with an RWD setup. We are not sure which one is seen in the video here.

This video is yet another reminder that the vehicle charging infrastructure in India still needs a lot of improvement. The owner clearly mentions that he did find a charging station, but it was not working. Most EV owners rely on mobile applications to locate EV chargers.

We assume the BYD owner might have also done something similar. He may have driven the car under the impression that he could charge it at that particular station. This also shows how important it is to plan a trip properly, especially when driving an EV.

If you are on a road trip, we would recommend not waiting for the charge to drop too low. Start looking for fast chargers when the charge is around 40 percent, and never lose an opportunity to charge your vehicle, as there is no guarantee that the next charging station will be functional.

In this case, the owner of the BYD Sealion is towing the EV and charging it simultaneously. However, we are not sure if this can be done with all EVs. After launching their EVs, Mahindra released a video to educate customers not to tow their EVs once they run out of charge or break down. They recommend calling for a flatbed tow truck to ensure no damage is done to the car.

Always confirm with the manufacturer whether it is safe to tow your EV, as doing so may or may not damage the vehicle.

This is not the first time we have come across an incident like this. A few weeks ago, we saw a post where an MG Windsor EV owner, on a road trip from Raipur to Seoni, had to leave his car and take a bus after it ran out of charge. The owner mentioned that he found six charging stations on his route before running out of charge, but none of them were functional.

Similarly, a Hyderabad-based IT firm MD also found himself in trouble after encountering multiple non-functional charging stations on his way from Hyderabad to Srisailam. He called it one of the most stressful road trips he had ever taken.