BYD Dolphin News

BYD plots podium finish in Australia - but how will it get there?

It doesn’t take a 360-degree parking system with sensors and cameras to realise the Federal Government is backing itself into a difficult corner.

Chinese carmaker Leapmotor has teased us with a hint of its sleek, small electric hatch the B05 ahead of its upcoming Munich motor show debut.

If you need any proof that Australians are well and truly in favour of Chinese cars, just take a look around your local supermarket car park.

One of the world’s largest carmakers' recent entry into Australia is proving fruitful, as China’s BYD finds itself sitting amongst the nation's top 10 brands.But BYD hasn’t only just managed to nab itself 10th or even 9th - in June 2025 the brand was the fifth-most popular behind Toyota, Ford, Mazda and Hyundai.In fact, in the entire first half of the year BYD has sold 23,355 cars in Australia putting it ahead of competitors like Isuzu (21,883), MG (21,674), Nissan (20,604) and Subaru (19,910).The first six best-selling brands in terms in the first half of 2025 will be familiar: Toyota, Mazda, Ford, Kia, Hyundai and Mitsubishi. But then? GWM and BYD.While GWM’s growth compared to the first half of 2024 is up a steady 17.0 per cent, BYD’s rise since the same period last year is meteoric. Compared to its 9548 sales up to June 30 in 2024, BYD’s 23,355 sales so far this year means it’s up 144.6 per cent.Eighth on the ladder year-to-date is an impressive feat for a brand most Australians likely hadn’t heard of just a couple of years ago, but the brand recognition brought about by its Atto 3 and the few models launched since has clearly worked.The brand has even made it into the ute market before mainstays like Kia, with its plug-in hybrid Shark 6 ute having broken the five-figure sales barrier. The brand has shifted 10,424 Sharks since its launch earlier this year.It’s unsurprisingly BYD’s most popular model, followed by the Sealion 6 PHEV (4375 YTD) and its electric Sealion 7 sibling (3756 YTD).The Atto 3 remains popular enough despite sales halving compared to the same point last year, now 1854 units this year-to-date, followed by the Seal sedan (1609 YTD, down 60.7 per cent) and Dolphin hatch (1337 YTD, up 7.1 per cent).The only thing that seems like it could see BYD come undone is a report from last week via Reuters that production at some BYD factories has been “cut by at least a third”, but it’s yet to be seen whether this is confirmed, or whether this will have a direct impact on Australian sales.

Chinese electric car maker BYD is following a secret five-year massive growth plan, which will see it sell half its vehicles overseas by 2030. This will make it a vehicle manufacturer on the same scale as Toyota and Volkswagen, according to a new report.The report by news outlet Reuters cites four people “familiar with the matter” who said BYD’s executives have committed to an ambitious strategy, which will see the electric vehicle brand undergo such an enormous output and sales increase that the company will rival even the world’s largest car manufacturers.BYD has just become the largest selling brand in its home country of China, overtaking Volkswagen last year with 4.27 million units sold.Last year BYD sold 417,204 vehicles overseas and this year the company plans to double that number to 800,000.  The Reuters report revealed BYD met privately with the company's investors to notify them of the growth plan, but it is not known if an actual 2030 predicted sales figure was disclosed.According to the insiders the way that the company wants to be able to achieve their grand plan is by localising production throughout the world. The plan outlines the need to have factories operating in Hungary, Uzbekistan, Brazil and Thailand in order to be able achieve its goal.BYD’s global growth plan will not include the United States, where recent high tariffs against Chinese carmakers have prevented the brand selling its cars there and made the company focus on Europe as the key to its success. Australia, too, will be part of BYD’s plan. Currently Australia doesn’t impose tariffs on Chinese carmakers and this combined with our fairly new and strong interest in electric cars has seen a multitude of Chinese brands arrive here offering what the established mainstream brands could not — very affordable electric cars.  This includes brands such as Geely, Zeekr, MG and Deepal.In April this year alone BYD sold 3207 in Australia, outstripping even Volkswagen with 2076 sales by an enormous margin. And all of BYD’s cars are electric or hybrids.BYD, which started as a battery maker before turning its hand to producing vehicles, arrived in Australia in 2022 with its first EV, the Atto 3 small SUV. The brand soon brought more vehicles to Australia including the Dolphin, Seal, Sealion 6 and Sealion 7 and the Shark 6. 

Geely is contemplating adding the Geome supermini/crossover electric vehicle to take on the BYD Dolphin and Hyundai Inster EVs in Australia, as well hybrids like the Toyota Yaris Cross and Subaru Crosstrek. If given the go-ahead, the keenly-priced, Kia Stonic-sized five-door Geome could land here with a mid-to-high $20,000 price tag, which could make it Australia’s cheapest new EV yet.

BYD might have just changed the EV game around the world, revealing a charging breakthrough that can deliver 400kms in driving range in just five minutes.

BYD has upgraded its Dolphin EV hatchback in its home market of China, adding a suite of cosmetic upgrades and self-driving tech.For 2025, the BYD Dolphin will have sportier front and rear bumpers, larger headlights, trapeze-shaped air intakes and two new alloy wheel designs.At the rear, BYD has modified the Dolphin’s LED tail-light signatures and replaced the Build Your Dreams inscription for the generic BYD logo.In the cabin, BYD has updated the Dolphin’s three-spoke steering wheel to the same unit as its Seal sedan sibling. The gear shifter has been relocated to the steering column.There’s also a new 8.8-inch LCD digital instrument display, a 12.8-inch central touchscreen and a 50W wireless phone charging pad.In Chinese examples, BYD’s 'God’s Eye' autonomous driving system has joined the driver safety assistance systems. That includes a tri-camera unit mounted to the rear windscreen, which enables the vehicle to navigate itself on a highway. This system will reportedly be updated at a later date to enable city driving as well.Three powertrains have been listed in China, starting with a single-motor, front-wheel drive variant with a 45kWh lithium-ion 'Blade' battery and a 70kW electric motor. The same configuration is offered on the entry-level Essential grade in Australia, delivering 340km of WLTP-rated range.Additionally, there is a mid-spec 130kW variant available in China with the same battery pack.As is the case in Australia, the range is led by more powerful 150kW variant with a 60.5kWh battery pack. It delivers 427km of driving range under the WLTP cycle.BYD’s local distributor, EVDirect, launched the Dolphin Essential grade in Australia in January, a more stripped-back version of the previous entry-grade Dynamic. It became the first EV in Australia to be priced under $30,000 at $29,990, before on-road costs, undercutting key rivals such as the MG4, GWM Ora and Nissan Leaf.Its recent launch date suggests we will still carry the pre-facelift model in Australia for a little while longer.Nonetheless, CarsGuide has contacted BYD’s local operations to determine when we can expect the updated Dolphin in Australia and this article will be updated following a response.

Could Australia’s EV wars be about to hit another major milestone?