BYD Dolphin News

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?

With so many new brands and models entering what appears to be a softening new car market, what started as a price skirmish is quickly evolving into all out war, with BYD announcing further reductions on cost-of-entry to some of its most popular models.

Australia’s electric car price wars are heating up once again, with BYD becoming the first-ever brand to advertise an electric car for under $30,000. Starting at $29,990, before on-road costs, the new Essential variant will lead the two-grade Dolphin range, sitting $6900 below the outgoing Dynamic ($36,890) and top-spec Premium ($42,890).

BYD's plans to be a global phenomenon.

Just when you thought utes and SUVs were about to completely take over Australia’s automotive scene, small cars are making something of a comeback.And it’s not the usual suspects like the Toyota Corollas and Mazda3s of the world that are bumping up interest in small sedans and hatchbacks. It is also electric cars.According to official year-to-date sales data to the end of November this year, small-car sales are up by 12 per cent compared with the same period in 2023. While that doesn’t sound like a massive increase, it represents the biggest percentage increase out of any SUV or passenger car segment.So what is driving this interest in smaller models? A couple of factors it turns out.The biggest contributor to the rise in sales is the influx of electric cars to the segment. Previously, the only electric small car was the Nissan Leaf which, while it was a pioneering EV model, never sold in huge numbers.Now there are a trio of EVs boosting the segment. The biggest selling small EV in Australia, by some margin, is the MG4 hatch. With 6079 sales, an increase of 140.6 per cent to the end of November, the MG4 is also the fifth best-selling small car.Sharp retail deals on model year 2023 MG4s, including a limited $30,990 drive-away price on the entry-level 51 Excite, helped boost interest in the Chinese-built EV.Another couple of small Chinese electric hatchbacks that are selling well include the BYD Dolphin which has found 1885 homes so far this year, an increase of 174 per cent over 2023.The GWM Ora has also nabbed 1182 sales, up by 175.5 per cent year on year.Two small EVs have seen sales drops, like the Cupra Born which has dipped by 47 per cent to 439 units, as well as the Nissan Leaf, which is down by 30.5 per cent, but that model is in runout in Australia following the end of UK production earlier this year.While EVs are doing the heavy lifting in the resurgent small-car sector, traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) small models are doing their part too.After a serious sales blip due to stock issues, the Kia Cerato is having a bumper year, with sales up by 187.5 per cent to 14,807 units, making it the second best-selling small car behind the dominant Toyota Corolla.The Cerato result is interesting given this generation went on sale in mid-2018. It is also now in runout ahead of quarter one, 2025 launch of its replacement, now dubbed the K4.The Corolla is also having a good run this year with 22,526 sales (up by 24.5%), ensuring a likely top 10 placing in the overall make/model sales chart. The Mazda3 is also in positive territory, up 13 per cent to 9618.A couple of other famous nameplates have seen sales declines, like the Hyundai i30 (11,616, -40.7%) and Volkswagen Golf (2593, -22.6%).At one point in history small cars made up one of the largest sales categories, but now with a 7.7 per cent slice of the overall market, it trails medium SUVs, 4x4 pick-ups, small SUVs and large SUVs.From 2011 to 2015 small cars ruled the top spot of the sales charts in Australia, with the Mazda3, then the Toyota Corolla taking top spot, before the Toyota HiLux ute came along and changed the face of the new-car market in 2016.

BYD has taken a step towards releasing what could be yet another affordable smash-hit electric model, as the brand trademarked the ‘Atto 3 Up’ name in Australia.This name could sit on locally-delivered versions of the Chinese-market Yuan Up, with Volkswagen likely to challenge use of the Up! name it used (and still holds the trademark for) on its city-sized hatchback, which was discontinued in Australia in 2014.The BYD Yuan Up is also known as the Yuan Pro in other markets outside China, but it seems the brand will stick with relatability should the model launch in Australia.It is offered with a 130kW/290Nm front-mounted electric motor and up to 380km of NEDC-rated range from a relatively small 45kWh battery. A charging capacity of up to 65kW on DC means a charge time from a quoted 30 - 80 per cent in 20 minutes.As with other BYD models, the Yuan Up features a high standard specification, including 16- or 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, an 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster, and up to a 12.8-inch central multimedia touchscreen on higher spec cars, as well as a synthetic leather interior. It relies on the same software and technology platform as the existing Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal already sold in Australia.It could be competitively priced, with higher-grade versions in China sitting at around the equivalent of AU$25,000 (likely closer to the mid-$30,000 mark if it follows the same pattern as other BYD models), leaving room for it to sit at a similar price to the Dolphin hatch (from $36,990) as an SUV alternative, but below the $44,499 starting price of the Atto 3.So far, the Yuan Pro (aka Atto 3 Up) has only been offered in left-hand drive. It is worth noting that BYD also holds many other as-yet-unused trademarks, including nameplates for other models from its Chinese range, like the Han luxury sedan, Song mid-size SUV, and even two options for the name of its sub-Dolphin city hatch, either Dolphin Mini (its name in South America) or Seagull (its name in China).Additionally, BYD holds multiple trademarks for its Denza premium arm, Fang Cheng Bao (Formula Leopard) off-road sub-brand, and its YangWang ultra-luxury marque, complete with separate trademarks for logos, symbols, and individual model names. It even holds a series of trademarks related to its SkyRail mass transit company, which already runs trains in South America and Singapore.BYD will no doubt seek to double down on its strong momentum in Australia with an expanded range to follow-up its plug-in hybrid Shark 6 ute, which has created quite some fanfare.When asked if this would include smaller models, the CEO of BYD’s local importer, David Smitherman told CarsGuide earlier this year the Seagull hatch was definitely a potential candidate, but the brand’s immediate focus would be on SUVs, strengthening the case for the Atto 3 Up being a smaller and cost-effective option in its line-up.He additionally indicated the brand was also strongly considering the Euro-focused E-Vali van as an option for its increasing base of fleet customers who had expressed interest in it.On top of this, the brand has said on multiple occasions it is very interested in the plug-in hybrid off-road focused Fang Cheng Bao Leopard 5 (essentially an SUV take on the Shark 6 platform), although hasn’t yet been able to confirm timing.Expanding its range is more important now than ever, with multiple rivals also from China eyeing the success of BYD, MG, and GWM, announcing their own debut models in 2025.These rivals include Xpeng, Geely, GAC, and Leapmotor, all of which have largely electric SUV-led ambitions in the next year.

BYD is looking to drive sales at the end of the year, slashing prices by $3000 on all of its passenger car models for a limited time. Additionally, the Chinese carmaker is offering a $1000 home charger installation voucher in the bundle. This deal applies to the end of November across all BYD models currently on sale, including the Dolphin hatch, Atto 3 small SUV, Seal sedan and Sealion 6 plug-in hybrid medium SUV. It is the latest move in BYD asserting dominance in the Australian new-car market, with loft ambitions first to take a top-five place among manufacturers followed by a challenge on giant Toyota that currently has a lock on first place. The brand plans to sell 25,000 cars this year, double 2023’s sales figures. By the end of October, BYD had registered 16,913 new cars in Australia, with 1732 done last month.It will need to really lift its game to hit the 25,000 target, more than doubling its October sales figures for the last two months of the year to over 4000 in a typically quiet time for new-car sales.BYD was not able to quantify how successful the promotion yas been yet but a spokesperson told CarsGuide "sales are in the thousands to date across the festival BYD campaign."The $3000 discounts bring the Dolphin electric hatch (340km-427km WLTP range) down as low as $33,890 before on-road costs, in Dynamic guise. Close but not enough to undercut the MG4 Excite 51kWh that is still on offer for $32,990 drive-away.The popular Atto 3 Standard drops to a competitive $41,499, while the Seal Dynamic sedan — that already undercut Tesla’s base Model 3 — is a quite ridiculous $46,888, before on-road costs. Finally, the plug-in hybrid Sealion 6 Dynamic drops its price below an equivalently-equipped Toyota RAV4 hybrid at $45,990, before on-road costs. Discounts have been instrumental in driving electric car sales in Australia with brands such as Tesla and MG finding bursts of serious success by slashing prices. Not everyone is on board, though, with critics noting the effects on resale value and price stability. 

BYD's rapid growth should have other car brands worried.