Events

BYD Dolphin Comes to Yorkshire for a Driving Day with New Entry-Level Models

A year after coming to our region with its small Atto SUV, newcomer brand BYD has returned for a driving day with its update Dolphin hatchback range.

While we might not be all that familiar with BYD in the UK, it’s actually one of the largest producers of battery-electric vehicles in the world courtesy of a range of commercial vehicles up to and including buses and trucks.

It’s part of the BYD conglomerate which started out as a battery manufacturer, and the various arms of the company deal with everything from extracting raw materials like lithium right down the full production line to the manufacture of its Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LFP) cells for the “Blade” battery inside each car.

In an impressive display of vertical integration, BYD even operates its own car transport ships – and in its native China will actually offer car insurance for your BYD vehicle.

The UK market offering from BYD’s passenger cars is a snapshot of what the company makes domestically, but it includes the aforementioned Atto 3 (from the “Dynasty Series”) and the Seal saloon (from the “Ocean Series”), along with the Seal U hybrid SUV which is renamed from its home market “Song” branding.

BYD originally launched the Dolphin in the UK last year, but the range has expanded a little so that it now include four specifications, three grades of motor, and two different battery packs.

It’s the two entry-level cars, the Active and the Boost, that BYD brought to the Coniston Hotel near Skipton for the day. Both sport the smaller, 44.9kWh battery rather pack than the Atto-sourced 60.4kWh item, but the Active has a lower-output, 94hp motor while the Boost sports nearly twice that at 174hp. The Comfort and Design models remain with their larger battery and 201hp motor — and you’ll notice that the model names go from A to D in order!

We’ll hear more from the NGMW members who were present and drove the cars soon!