The BYD Dolphin – the company’s highly anticipated and lower priced electric hatchback – has again been spotted in Sydney. This time, it appears to be another vehicle spotted at a shopping centre in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Rhodes.
The vehicle was spotted by Tesla and EV enthusiast ARM on Twitter. It was charging and had black mirrors which could indicate that it’s the updated 2023 model of the Dolphin.
BYD Dolphin?? Spotted at Rhodes. pic.twitter.com/TEoZfbB55O
— ARM (@13arm13arm) February 17, 2023
Another good aspect of this newly spotted hatchback is the right-hand drive steering wheel which indicates that it could be pretty close to being ready for the Australian market.
It also has less camouflage than the testing vehicle that has been spotted multiple times. That Dolphin also has orange mirrors.
More BYD Dolphin pics pic.twitter.com/IOajdIo1W8
— ARM (@13arm13arm) February 17, 2023
The BYD Dolphin is also one of the new lower-cost electric vehicles to reach Australia in 2023. It’s expected to be priced under $A40,000 when it launches later this year, making it one of the most affordable ground-up EVs to hit the market.
This electric hatchback is equipped with BYD’s Blade battery technology. The extended range version should be able to achieve over 300 km of WLTP range from a 44.93 kWh battery pack.
It can also be fast-charged at speeds of up to 60 kW which is respectable for a car with a battery of this size.
The higher output motor that is fed by the 44.93 kWh battery pack can produce 130 kW of power and 290 Nm in torque. This can propel the BYD Dolphin from 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds.
On the inside, like the Atto 3, there is a screen behind the steering wheel as well as a floating larger infotainment and car-control screen.
The smaller screen is 5 inches diagonally while the larger floating screen comes in at 12.8 inches. This would be by far the largest screen in any hatchback on the Australian market.
Compared to other hatchbacks on the Australian market, the all-electric BYD Dolphin is slightly shorter in length than the very popular Toyota Corolla. It comes in at 4,070 mm in length.
It is likely to be offered with 17-inch wheels in Australia but this will be confirmed when the official Australian pricing and specifications are revealed in the coming months.
The newly spotted Dolphin is great to see. It shows that BYD is gearing up for the local launch in the coming months. Until then, if we are lucky, it may even be spotted again at the Fully Charged Live expo in Sydney next month.
Affordable EVs have been the rage in 2022 with the popularity of the recently launched BYD Atto 3. These have helped many more Australians to make the switch. The potential upcoming launch of the Dolphin is expected to continue that trend in 2023.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.