The BYD Dolphin – Options, Range, Colours and delivery dates – everything we know so far

Following the launch last night on the Gold Coast of the BYD Dolphin the order page is open and we can now see all that we need to know about Australia’s newest and most affordable Electric Vehicle.

The Dolphin will come in three model variants, the Dynamic, the Premium and the Sport.

Both the Dynamic and Premium models will begin deliveries in Australia in September/October this year, while the “hot hatch” Sport will be a 2024 car in Limited Edition.

For the Dynamic and Premium, the prices will be $38,890 and $44,890 respectively.

In NSW, that puts the drive-away price of the Dynamic at $39,991.57 (for my postcode), and the NSW Govt Electric Car rebate is still available to give you further cash back.

What’s the difference between the BYD Dolphin Dynamic and Dolphin Premium?

The two models are identical in shape and size, only the colour options and drivetrain are the key differences.

At the entry level, the “Dynamic” comes with a 44.9kWh battery, offering 340km of WLTP range. The Premium has a 60.48kWh battery with 427km of range.

Both are the BYD Blade battery technology, the Dynamic has 60kW fast charging, the Premium tops out at 80kW.

Performance is also vastly different, with the Dynamic offering 70kW of power and 180Nm of torque with a 0-100 time of 12.3 seconds, the Premium model has 150kW of power, 310Nm torque and a 7 second 0-100 time.

The only other real differences are the multi-link rear suspension in the Premium and 17 inch vs 16 inch Alloys.

Every single tech and safety feature in the Premium is also in the Dynamic.

What Colours does the BYD Dolphin come in?

This is how we’ll tell the Premium from the Dynamic apart on the road.

Only the premium models come with the two tone colour, black roof and choice of body colour as seen in these four options:

The Dynamic colours are full body and are a bit more of a colourful pallet other than the shared pink across both models.

What is the range of the BYD Dolphin?

The BYD Dolphin Dynamic will go 340km in normal conditions, while the Dolphin premium will offer 427km of range. This puts both price and range on par with the recently announced MG4 EV.

When can I buy the BYD Dolphin?

Orders are open now, requiring a $1,000 deposit, with deliveries likely in around October this year.

What is the Dolphin Sport?

Think “hot hatch”. There’s no specs or anything other than this photo right now:

But, BYD has confirmed 1,000 units will come to Australia – the Sport is a “tuned” version of the Dolphin, which should offer a bit more oomph off the line, a touch more power, a better stance and ride on the road, but that will all come at the expense of range.

How big is the BYD Dolphin?

This is interesting, I honestly thought this was more “Yaris” than “Corolla” but indeed it is very similarly sized to a traditional hatchback.

Here’s how it compares to a Toyota Corolla:

How does the BYD Dolphin compare on price to petrol cars?

One of the biggest markers of the growth in Electric cars and the affordability of Electric cars is the gap between the price of a petrol car and the EV alternative.

For this comparison, we’re going hatchback, and we’ll compare the BYD Dolphin to the Toyota Corolla and the Kia Cerato Hatch.

We’ve configured each car for delivery in the same NSW metro postcode.

• BYD Dolphin Dynamic – $39,991.57
• Kia Cerato Hatch – $27,890
• Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport – $32,323

So in essence, and simplified, we’re paying $12,000 more than the Kia equivalent, and $7k more than the Corolla.

HOWEVER, it must be noted that both the Kia and Toyota offer several variants with a range of options. While the BYD is feature rich at the base level, with only the range being compromised.

Just a feature like rear-cross-traffic alert on the Toyota would require you stepping up to a model that’s priced at $35k, so head to head the gap will be tighter – but comparing apples with apples is always hard with cars like this.

And let’s be real – BYD is an unknown in Australia, it’s a Chinese brand with a long way to go here. MG would be it’s closest equivalent, and while the MG3 is slightly smaller, you can pick one of them up for $20,000. Half the price of the Dolphin.

Bottom line is, this is a big step up. But, it is Australia’s most affordable electric car today.