BYD’s new Dolphin electric hatchback was unveiled today at Princess Street Park on the Brisbane Corso by QLD Transport Minister Mark Bailey and EVDirect.com CEO Luke Todd, prior to the official evening launch at Seaworld.
BYD’s Australian distributor EVDIRECT invited fans to the launch event with the claim that the BYD Dolphin would be “the most affordable, high quality EV launched in Australia”.
EVDIRECT has followed up on their promise, with news that the base model Dolphin will be Australia’s cheapest EV at $38,890 before adding on roads and removing any government rebates.
This is $100 less than the base model MG4 which was announced earlier this week.
Although the base model BYD Dolphin and MG4 are a similar price they have different strengths vs weaknesses, specifications and warranties so compare the pair properly before making a choice between the cars.
The QLD rebate for EV’s is currently the highest of any Australian state or territory at $6000 for eligible applicant households who earn less than or equal to $180,000 per annum and purchase an EV that costs up to $68,000 inc GST.
This post will update tonight with more details after the official Dolphin launch in Australia.
UPDATE: there will be 3 versions of the BYD Dolphin in Australia with the Dynamic and Premium versions available in September 2023 and a surprise Sport version sometime next year.
Dynamic – $38,890 plus onroads (45kWh battery, 340km WLTP range)
Premium – $44,890 (427km WLTP range, 60.5kWh battery)
Sport – $49,990 (unknown range as yet)
At first glance the front wheel drive BYD Dolphin will be better in the city with it’s well specified interior, large touchscreen and much more inclusions overall.
However the Dolphin has a lot less range and quite slow charging speed compared to the rear wheel drive MG4 which has a more spartan interior but is designed as a pure drivers car which is more fun and practical for longer range road trips.
