BYD sends 9,000 units of its lowest cost EV, the Dolphin Mini, to European markets

In February 2024, news broke that BYD’s smallest and best-selling vehicle was on its way to the South American market.

Now, just over a year later, thousands of the first European-bound BYD Dolphin Mini, also known as the Seagull hatchback, have left a port in Shanghai on-board two RoRo vehicle carrier ships.

According to news shared by Tphuang on X, 9,000 BYD vehicles will be arriving later this month, ahead of the Dolphin Mini launch.

The first market for the European launch is expected to be Spain next month, followed by other key left-hand-drive markets.

Reports also suggest that this model is likely to be one of the cheapest EV within the European market.

The BYD Dolphin Mini is offered with two battery sizes, 30.08 kWh and 38.88 kWh. Both featuring BYD’s lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry.

The larger battery of 38.88 kWh can deliver 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. The top-spec variant can also be charged from 30-80% in just 29 minutes.

In China, the price of this city electric hatchback starts at $A16,300 and goes all the way up to $A19,700.

The BYD Dolphin Mini was launched at the Shanghai auto show in April, 2023 as the BYD Seagull. It was reportedly the star of that show, raking in thousands of orders in only a few days of being there.

BYD began deliveries of the vehicle in its home market of China and just six months later, still in 2023, had produced 200,000.

This made the Dolphin Mini one of the fastest-selling electric cars in the market.

According to data compiled by CNC for that year, the BYD Dolphin Mini was the company’s best-selling electric car, accounting for over 280,000 sales in 2023.

In 2024, the BYD Dolphin Mini upped its sales further in China, with over 360,000 units sold.

This made it the top-selling EV in China for several months during the year as well.

Locally, BYD’s smallest car is the Dolphin hatchback which now starts at $29,990 before on-roads.

This officially makes it Australia’s cheapest EV and deliveries of the most affordable variant, the Essentials range, are expected to start in the coming weeks.

The Dolphin Mini on the other hand will also be very welcomed into our market but there have been no plans announced for it’s arrival into Australia just yet.