Peter Lyon
July 8, 2023
Produced in China by BYD since 2021, the battery-electric Dolphin seems finally headed for Malaysian showrooms. How do we know this? Because the EV has just gone on sale in Thailand and Singapore and BYD Malaysia announced as much recently. But we don’t quite know when. And by checking out its pricing structure in Thailand, at least, we can get a very good idea about what Malaysian customers will pay. See below.
In Thailand, the Dolphin is priced from THB699,999 or around RM92,689. It is available in two variations in Thailand: Standard Range and Extended Range. Just when the EV will go on sale here is still unclear.
The BYD Dolphin has LED headlights and taillights, which are contemporary must-have characteristics. For the Singaporean market, where the price hovers around an exorbitant SGD156,888 (or around RM540,000), the EV hatchback also comes with a pair of 16-inch alloy wheels as standard, while the Extended Range model sold in Thailand has a larger set of 17-inch alloy wheels.
Measuring 4,290 mm long, 1,570 mm tall, and 1,770 mm wide, the Dolphin is comparably sized to the Honda City Hatchback and slightly bigger than the Perodua Myvi, Proton Iriz, and Toyota Yaris, but smaller than the Ora Good Cat EV.
The Dolphin uses a single motor setup and is linked with a 44.9 kWh internal CTB (Cell to Body) battery manufactured by BYD. The hatchback generates a total of 94 hp and 180 Nm of torque, with power channeled exclusively to the front wheels. For the Thailand market’s Standard Range and Extended variants, the Dolphin’s range is estimated to be 410 km and 490 km (NEDC) respectively, but expect a roughly 50km drop in range in real-world driving.
Using a 60 kW DC charger, the BYD EV can be charged from 20% to 80% in 33 minutes. A 7 kW AC charger can also charge the hatchback from empty to full in 7.5 hours. Additionally, BYD added Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) technology to give the car greater practicality.
The Dolphin comes equipped with a 12.8-inch “Intelligent Rotating Screen” with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, a 5-inch digital instrument cluster, power-adjustable front seats for the Singaporean and top-spec Thailand variants, as well as an NFC keycard to unlock the vehicle.
In terms of security, BYD has given the Dolphin EV lane departure and lane keep warning (LDW & LKW), adaptive cruise control (ACC), stop-and-go capabilities, and a 360-degree view monitor and blind spot detection.
OUR THOUGHTS
Boasting competitive range and pricing, the Dolphin is an EV that the market has been waiting for, so we feel it will do well in its opening sales phase—whenever that might be. Based on the costs of the Thai variation and its larger sibling, the BYD Atto 3 (RM149,800 and RM167,800), we anticipate that its price will be in the neighbourhood of RM100,000 to RM120,000 when it officially launches here.
