BYD has detailed its Dolphin electric hatchback range ahead of arrivals in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Orders are now open.
UPDATE, 25/10/23 – ANCAP has published its safety rating of the Seal, and we’ve updated this article accordingly.
UPDATE, 12/10/23 – We have updated this article to reflect servicing intervals and cost. This can be found in the Servicing and Warranty section of this article.
In addition to the base Dynamic, narrowly Australia’s most affordable electric vehicle (EV) by $100, there’s a more powerful Premium and a limited edition Sport that’s coming next year.
Premium
In addition to a more powerful electric motor, the Premium swaps the standard torsion beam rear suspension for a multi-link set-up.
Even the base Dynamic, however, comes standard with power-adjustable, heated front seats and a panoramic glass roof, as well as a wide array of active safety and driver assist equipment.
Also standard across the range is a heat pump and a vehicle-to-load (V2L) function, allowing you to power small appliances using the battery.
The Dolphin will go up against the MG 4, Australia’s cheapest electric vehicle for a few days this week, as well as the pricier GWM Ora.
Pricing
- 2024 BYD Dolphin Dynamic: $38,890
- 2024 BYD Dolphin Premium: $44,890
- 2024 BYD Dolphin Sport: $49,990
All prices exclude on-road costs.
Drivetrains
The BYD Dolphin Dynamic has a single 70kW/180Nm electric motor, powered by a 44.9kWh Blade battery. The claimed 0-100km/h time is 12.3 seconds.
The Dolphin Premium upgrades to a 60.48kWh battery and a 150kW/310Nm electric motor, slashing the 0-100km/h time to 7.0 seconds.
Specifications haven’t been confirmed for the Sport, though BYD’s local distributor claims a 0-100km/h time of under seven seconds.
Efficiency
The BYD Dolphin Dynamic has 340km of range on the WLTP cycle, with DC charging at up to 60kW.
The Dolphin Premium has 427km of range and DC charging at up to 80kW.
Dimensions
The BYD Dolphin measures 4290mm long, 1770mm wide (with mirrors folded) and 1570mm tall on a 2700mm wheelbase. There’s 345L of boot space, increasing to 1310L with the rear seats folded.
Kerb weight is 1506kg in the Dynamic and 1658kg in the Premium.
Servicing and Warranty
The BYD Dolphin is backed by a six-year, 150,000km vehicle warranty and an eight-year, 160,000km battery warranty.
Customers have the option to service any of their vehicles through its own service centres or through certain mycar service centres. It’s best to find your local service centre via the BYD Australia distributor’s website.
Servicing for the 2024 BYD Dolphin is required every 12 months or 20,000km whichever occurs first.
EVDirect has pricing for the first 8 years or 160,000km available via its standard service plan, priced at $189, $370, $189, $447, $189, $370, $189 and $447.
Safety
The BYD Dolphin has a five-star safety rating from ANCAP against stricter 2023-25 testing criteria.
It scored 89 per cent for adult occupant protection, 86 per cent for child occupant protection, 85 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 77 per cent for safety assist.
Standard equipment on all Dolphins includes:
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Adaptive cruise control
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane-keep assist
- Emergency lane-keep assist
- Front cross-traffic assist
- Rear cross-traffic assist
- Traffic sign recognition
- Intelligent speed limit assist
- Driver fatigue detection
- Front, front-side and curtain airbags
- Driver’s far-side airbag
- Surround-view camera
- Front and rear parking sensors
Standard Equipment
There are three members of the local Dolphin range.
The Dynamic comes standard with the following equipment:
- 16-inch alloy wheels
- LED headlights
- Adaptive Front Light
- Panoramic glass roof
- Power-folding exterior mirrors
- Rear privacy glass
- 12.8-inch rotating touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired Apple CarPlay
- Satellite navigation
- DAB digital radio
- Six-speaker sound system
- 5.0-inch digital instrument cluster
- Six-way power driver’s seat
- Four-way power passenger’s seat
- Leatherette upholstery
- Heated front seats
- 60/40 split/fold rear seats
- Keyless entry and start
- Wireless phone charger
- USB-A x 2 (one front, one rear)
- USB-C x 2 (one front, one rear)
The Premium adds:
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Multi-link rear suspension
- Two-tone paint
Full specifications have yet to be detailed for the Sport, but it’s confirmed to offer:
- Performance tyres
- Performance-styled wheels
- Sport-styled body kit
- “Tuned sports performance”
Colours
No colours carry an extra charge.
The Dynamic is available in four colour schemes:
- Sand White with Brown/Black interior
- Urban Grey with Grey/Black interior
- Maldive Purple with Brown/Black interior
- Coral Pink with Pink/Grey interior
The Premium comes in four two-tone schemes:
- Ski White/Urban Grey with Grey/Black interior
- Coral Pink/Urban Grey with Pink/Grey interior
- Surf Blue/Urban Grey with Blue/Black interior
- Atlantis Grey/Delan Black with Grey/Black interior
The Sport will come only in Matte Grey with a Grey/Black interior.
MORE: Everything BYD Dolphin
