BYD Dolphin Officially Launches In Malaysia On July 28

BYD Dolphin teased on social media with a confirmed launch date.

(Image source: Instagram)

Launched in China last year and 'teased' briefly during the BYD Atto 3’s Malaysian launch, the BYD Dolphin compact EV hatch is set to launch later this month on July 28 (Friday). This was confirmed through a social media post by the brand’s Malaysian arm published today, making it today’s second biggest local EV news.

Though the model wasn’t explicitly mentioned, the teaser image contains said model’s unmistakable side profile silhouette, accompanied with a dolphin-shaped artwork depicting its state of charge at 10%. The latter should be clear enough indication of things indeed.

Image source: Instagram

At present, specs and price remains uncertain, but speculation online is rife that Malaysians will get a single-spec offering as how the Chinese marque offers it to our neighbours north of our border – Thailand. However, given the reception of the Atto 3 thus far, we won’t discount both Standard Range and Extended Range guises being offered either.

Prior to today’s announcement, the model was already sighted on Malaysian shores being shipped in with a batch of customer-bound Atto 3s. Said lone unit, more likely than not, was perhaps tasked with pre-launch efforts, namely type-approval, as well as both internal and external trials and evaluation.

In Thailand, the BYD Dolphin is sold in just a single guise featuring a 44.9 kWh battery.

To refresh your memory, BYD offers the Dolphin in Thailand with a single guise featuring a front-mounted electric motor outputting 94 HP and 180 NM to the front wheels. Said motor is juiced by BYD’s proprietary 44.9 kWh ‘blade’ battery pack that can accept DC charging inputs of up to 60 kW.

Charging via said DC input will allow the Dolphin to attain 30-80% charges in just 30 minutes, whereas a full charge should grant range of up to 410 KM (WLTP). Much like the Atto 3, the Dolphin will offer similar levels of tech as said crossover, including vehicle-to-load (V2L) power output abilities.

On board specs of the Dolphin is widely expected to mirror with the larger Atto 3 crossover SUV.

In other markets such as Australia, the Dolphin is offered in a higher-specced guise that packs a larger 60 kWh battery capacity with outputs as high as 201 HP and 310 NM too. Additionally, Australian customers are also able to acquire a ‘hotter’ Dolphin Sport version that we detailed in this recent report.

In terms of size, the Dolphin boasts a rather compact footprint through its 4,125 MM length with a 2,700 MM wheelbase, and its 1,770 MM width. For context, the Dolphin sits 220 MM shorter and 22 MM wider than the Honda City Hatchback, which in turn makes it ideal as an urban runabout.

We’ll have more details once BYD Sime Darby Motors Malaysia officially introduces the model later month. In the meantime, what price figure should the firm set for the model at launch to perhaps entice you into its favour? As always, hit the comments below – as well as our social pages – with your thoughts…