BYD Dolphin and Seal make surprise splash at Festival of Motoring

Having kept a low profile since its debuting the Atto 3 on local soil last year, BYD sprung a surprise of its own at the Kyalami Festival of Motoring on Thursday (29 August) by showing its entire model line-up, including the much-vaunted Seal sedan.

Dolphin

Upstaged back in July by local importer Enviro Automotive’s Dayun Yuehu S5 as the country’s cheapest electric vehicle, the Dolphin forms part of BYD’s so-called Ocean range of products comprising both it, the Seal and the Sealion crossover known as the Seal U in Europe and the Song Plus in China.

ALSO READ: Plans soon: BYD tipped to expand South African footprint

Positioned above the tiny entry-level Seagull, the Dolphin rides on the same e-Platform 3.0 as the Atto 3 and makes use of the brand’s so-called Blade battery pack using lithium phosphorate batteries in a skateboard-type design.

Similar to the Atto 3, the Dolphin range spans two models; Standard Range and Extended Range with the former producing 70kW/180Nm from its 44.9-kWh battery pack, and the latter 150kW/310Nm from its 60.4-kWh module.

The respective ranges are 340 km and 427 km. Performance-wise, the Standard will get from 0-100 km/h in 12.3 seconds and reach a top speed of 150 km/h, while the Extended will dispatch the benchmark sprint in seven seconds before topping out at 159 km/h.

Dimensionally, the Dolphin measures 4 290 mm long, 2 012 mm wide and 1 570 mm tall. Wheelbase is measured at 2 700 mm with boot space ranging from 345-litres to 1 310-litres.

On the specification front, both models come standard with a five-inch digital instrument cluster as well as the portrait-style 12.8-inch infotainment system that rotates either vertically or horizontally through 90-degrees.

Additional standard items are faux leather upholstery, auto on/off LED headlights, folding electric mirrors, keyless entry and push-button start, a six-speaker sound system, heated and ventilated front seats, a multi-function steering wheel, integrated satellite navigation and dual-zone climate control.

Standard safety and driver assistance systems include Adaptive Cruise Control, a tyre pressure monitor, six airbags, traction and stability control, front and rear parking sensors, a surround-view camera system, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keep Assist.

Differentiating the two models are 19-inch as opposed to 18-inch alloy wheels on the Extended Range, plus a panoramic glass sunroof.

Price

Priced at R539 900 and R599 900 respectively, both Dolphin model’s price tags include a five-year/100 000 km warranty, a five-year/100 000 km maintenance plan and an eight-year/150 000 km battery warranty.

Seal

Compared to the Dolphin and Atto 3, no details of the Seal were divulged despite a BYD representative confirming its market entry in October.

Spanning four variants in China, the spokesman did confirm that both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive drivetrains would be offered, again with no other information provided.

Noted at the festival was the latter, which utilises a 82.5-kWh battery pack powering a 160 kW electric motor at the front and a 230 kW unit at the rear.

Combined, the setup produces 390kW/670Nm, which translates to a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 3.8 seconds and a claimed Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) range of 520 km.

Based on documents from BYD Australia, the base rear-wheel-drive Seal uses the same battery pack as the all-wheel-drive but drops the front electric motor for a total output of 230kW/360Nm.

Its claimed range is, however, greater at 570 km, though 0-100 km/h takes 5.9 seconds.

Finally, the Standard Range uses the same battery size as the Atto 3 and Dolphin Extended Ranges with the same 150kW/310Nm outputs. Able to get from 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds, the Standard will do 460 km on a single charge.

Launched in May last year for the Chinese market only, the so-called 700 km range Seal develops 170kW/330Nm from the 82.5-kWh battery, with the mentioned 700 km range being based on the CLTC cycle rather than the completely different WLTP used in Europe.

More details soon

Shrouded in mystery for now, expect full details of the Seal to emerge heading into September before its sales claimed sales commencing in October.

Additional information from duoporta.com, BYD Australia and cnevpost.com.

NOW READ: WATCH: EV frenzy loading as BYD officially prices Atto 3