Chinese car giant BYD has been making waves in the automotive industry in the last few years with the launch of several affordable ground-up electric vehicles, and now intends to do the same with an electric city car.
BYD last year quietly launched – at the Shanghai auto show – the BYD Seagull city electric car and it now appears this will be heading to international markets, rebranded as the BYD Dolphin Mini.
In a video released by the brand on X, BYD showcases some of the key features of this city electric car.
Shots in the video show a lime green Dolphin Mini driving around the narrow streets of a city, highlighting the size of the car and its practicality.
At one stage, the park-assist feature is showcased helping the car parallel park in small parking spot.
BYD DOLPHIN MINI. Stylish design, spacious interior, advanced safety features.
The revolutionary BYD Blade Battery ensures top-tier safety and performance, while offering a range of 427km and 29-minute DC Charging (SOC 30%-80%). #BYD #DolphinMini #ElectricVehicle pic.twitter.com/8Rtl5sR6Ph
— BYD (@BYDCompany) February 5, 2024
The re-naming of the Seagull to the Dolphin Mini is more in line with the brand’s other ocean-themed naming convention which includes two other models available in the Australian market.
These include the Dolphin electric hatchback which at its launch was the most affordable electric car on the market.
More recently in the second half of 2023, BYD launched its premium sports sedan, the Seal, which also carries the ocean-themed name. In January, the Seal was the second-best-selling EV in the market.
Getting back to the more compact Dolphin Mini, the popularity of this car since its original launch at the Shanghai auto show in April was clear. It had over 10,000 orders in just 24 hours, hinting at the sheer demand for an affordable electric city car in the market.
Just six months later in November, the company announced that it had produced 200,000 units, making it one of the fastest-selling electric cars in the market.
In China, the BYD Dolphin Mini is offered in two batteries. These come in 30.08 kWh and 38.88 kWh with the larger battery packs offering up to 405 km of CLTC range, which is more likely to be around 300 km on the WLTP cycle.
These battery packs power a single-motor drivetrain that can deliver up to 55 kW of power which is zippy enough for a city car.
Previously, the European variants of the original Dolphin have seen a bump up in specifications compared to the cars offered in China.
Part of this has been due to improved safety features offered on the vehicles for export markets. This could make the local starting price of under $A17,000, a bit on the lower end and is likely to be closer to $A25,000 when and if it makes it to export markets like those in Europe.
At this stage, it’s unclear if there are any plans for BYD to bring this car to Australia but we do know that a larger SUV and an ute are set to arrive in 2024.
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.