BYD revamps the Dolphin
The BYD Dolphin, which has now been published in the vehicle catalogue of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), is a subtle upgrade of the familiar model. The design at the front has been slightly revised, with the redesigned headlights and air intakes giving the revised Dolphin a more dynamic appearance. There are hardly any changes to the side view and the ‘Build Your Dreams’ lettering at the rear has been replaced with the abbreviation BYD – and there is also a new headlight design here. The wheelbase remains at 2.77 metres and the overall length is less than 4.30 metres.
The range of engines has been expanded with the facelift. Three power levels are mentioned in the licence application, with outputs of 70, 130 and 150 kW. Previously, the Dolphin was only available with 70 kW (with the 44.5 kWh battery) and 150 kW (with the 60.5 kWh battery). The type designations of the motors indicate that the new 130 kW option is an offshoot of the familiar 150 kW motor.
It is not clear from the licence application which battery the three motors will be combined with. It only states that the entire series (unsurprisingly) relies on BYD’s Blade battery with LFP cell chemistry. However, the energy content or range of the respective models is not known. BYD is said to be planning a new generation of the Blade battery for 2025, and further details were only leaked this week.
The facelift with the potentially new battery is also relevant for Europe: As BYD’s head of Europe Stella Li stated in an interview, the Dolphin will be one of the first two models to be built in the new European factory in Hungary from the end of 2025. We had already speculated that this could possibly be a revised version, as the current, imported Dolphin may impress with its price, but not necessarily with features such as its charging capacity.
The prices for the facelift model are not yet known. In China, the Dolphin is currently being offered at prices between 99,800 and 129,800 yuan, which is the equivalent of 13,070 to 17,000 euros. In Europe, the model officially starts at 30,990 euros, with the large battery it is 32,990 euros.
In China, it is mandatory for new vehicles to be published in an official catalogue with standardised data so that consumers can compare the new model with other vehicles. Inclusion in the catalogue is the last major step before a model is approved for sale in China.
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