BYD Dolphin Surf: best price, spec sheet and news

Learn more about the BYD Dolphin Surf

The long-awaited BYD finally launches its small electric car in France. Renamed the Dolphin Surf, it relies on an entry price of under €20,000 and a solid allotment to carve out a place in the city car segment.

If BYD has until now focused on large electric cars in Europe, the Chinese giant now seems to be targeting urban segments – a thriving urban market here, but extremely complicated to make profitable.

After the launch of the Atto 2 a few months ago, BYD is indeed presenting its Dolphin Surf, an electric city car of less than 4 m. The long-awaited “Europeanized” version of the Seagull intends to shake up the segment where the Renault 5 E-Tech, Dacia Spring and Citroën ë-C3 reign with shocking arguments such as the price of access under 20,000 euros.

Style trimmed from edges

We don’t hide it: the BYD Seagull base, sold in China for 2 years, is perfectly recognizable when we discover this Dolphin Surf. Only the front and rear shields are modified, more aggressive – increasing the length of the city car by 21 cm, which is enough for a length of 3.99 m.

The rest remains sharp headlights, a rather tall and narrow stature (1.59m tall and 1.72m wide) and a very upright rear end. Horizontal lights help to visually widen the rear, while 15- or 16-inch rims remain reasonable. The charging socket is hidden in the left front fender – that is, on the right side of the curb.

The interior is unchanged. The BYD Dolphin Surf is a strict four-seater with a trunk of 308 liters, while its dashboard adopts the look of the Dolphin “simply”, with a wave style and a series of buttons including a rotary gear selector.

Technology is never far away: BYD has installed its traditional rotating screen in the center of the dashboard, here 10.1 inches, compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The driver’s instrument screen is located behind the steering wheel, while an induction charger is present on the center console.

Three engines from 19,990 euros

On the chassis side, the BYD Dolphin Surf is based on the traditional e-Platform 3.0 and adopts the in-house developed Blade LFP battery. There are two capacities: one 30 kWh promising a range of 220 km according to the WLTP cycle and one 43.2 kWh which can travel up to 322 km WLTP on a single charge.

Fast charging is standard and both batteries can charge from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes – average time for the category. On the engine side, two options: 88 hp (65 kW) or 156 hp (115 kW) depending on the version.

BYD obliges, the allocation is excessive. From the first level of equipment, the Dolphin Surf receives adaptive cruise control, a central screen, a reversing camera, air conditioning, seats made of imitation leather and V2L, which allows you to power electrical devices using battery power. The premium finishes unlock electric and heated seats, a 360° camera, 16-inch rims and even inductive smartphone charging.

Let’s talk about pricing, which is a very important topic for a small car. Despite the customs surcharges imposed by Europe, BYD manages to price its Dolphin Surf from €19,990, certainly without the green bonus in France. Note that the city car should subsequently be produced in a Hungarian factory under construction, enough to bypass these two levers.

Here is the summary table:

Opposite it, the Renault 5 uses its 5 seats and undeniable capital likes to overcome higher prices; the Citroën ë-C3 / Fiat Grande Panda duo, available for under €25,000 without bonuses, will boast more interior space and their European production, even if it means cutting back on standard equipment.

In the lower segment, Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03 certainly offer lower prices, but BYD could outclass them in versatility.

Orders for the BYD Dolphin Surf are now open and the first deliveries are planned for this summer. See you in a few days for our first test.