BYD’s fully electric (EV) hatchback – the Dolphin has just made its launch in both the Singaporean and Thailand markets. Offered in one variant only in Singapore, and two variants – Standard Range and Extended Range in Thailand, the BYD Dolphin retails at SGD156,888 (approx. RM541,016) in Singapore, inclusive of COE, and is priced from THB699,999 (approx. RM92,689) in Thailand. BYD has already confirmed that its Dolphin EV hatchback will be coming to the Malaysian market. The question is when?
On the outside, the BYD Dolphin features modern-day must-have features such as LED headlights and tail lights. The EV hatchback also comes as standard with 16-inch alloys for the Singaporean market, while the Thailand market Extended Range variant is equipped with a larger set of 17-inch alloys.
Just in case you’re wondering how big or small the BYD Dolphin is, it measures 4,290 mm long, 1,570 mm tall, and 1,770 mm wide, and is underpinned by a 2,700 mm long wheelbase. This makes the Chinese EV hatchback slightly larger than the Perodua Myvi, Proton Iriz, and Toyota Yaris, and about the same size as the Honda City Hatchback. But as expected, the Ora Good Cat EV is still larger than the BYD Dolphin.
Powered by a single motor setup, the BYD Dolphin is paired with BYD’s in-house CTB (Cell to Body) battery with a 44.9 kWh capacity. With power sent to the front wheels only, the EV hatchback produces a total of 94 hp and 180 Nm. As for how far the BYD Dolphin can carry you on a single charge, its range is rated at 410 km and 490 km (NEDC) for the Thailand market Standard Range and Extended variants respectively.
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Charging the BYD Dolphin from 20 to 80% takes 33 minutes using a 60 kW DC charger. The hatchback can also be juiced up from flat to full in 7.5 hours using a 7 kW AC charger. BYD has also equipped the EV hatchback with the Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality.
Moving inside, equipment you get with the BYD Dolphin includes a 12.8-inch ‘Intelligent Rotating Screen’ with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto support, a five-inch digital instrument cluster, power-adjustable front seats for the Singaporean and top-spec Thailand variants, as well an NFC keycard to unlock the car. The Thailand market Extended Range variant even gets a panoramic glass roof.
In terms of safety, BYD has equipped the Dolphin EV with safety features such as adaptive cruise control (ACC) with stop & go functionality, as well as lane departure and lane keep warning (LDW & LKW). Blind spot detection and a 360-degree view monitor are also included with the BYD Dolphin.
Now that the BYD Dolphin has made its launch in both our northern and southern neighbours’ markets, is our turn coming soon? We are also presuming its price to be around RM100,000 to RM120,000 ballpark when it officially launches in Malaysia, considering the Thai variant’s prices, as well as its bigger brother – the BYD Atto 3’s local retail prices (RM149,800 and RM167,800).
What do you think about the BYD Dolphin? Will you consider it over the petrol-powered B-segment hatchbacks we have in Malaysia? Let us know in the comments!
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