The smallest electric car sold by BYD in Australia may be about to get even cheaper, according to new Australian government documents.
The BYD Dolphin may be about to gain a more affordable base-model variant that could put it back in the race for Australia’s cheapest new electric car.
It comes as the smallest model from the Chinese car giant is outsold more than two to one by its MG 4 rival – and a month after prices of the existing two Dolphin variants were cut by $2000.
Australian government approval documents list a new ‘Essential’ variant of BYD’s small hatch, sharing its 70kW electric motor and 44.9kWh battery with the current entry model, the Dynamic, which starts from $36,890 plus on-road costs.
MORE: 2024 BYD Dolphin price cut amid sales slide
It is unclear how the Essential will differ from the Dynamic, however its name – and shared electric motor and battery – suggest it will be through reduced standard equipment.
The RRP would therefore need to undercut the Dynamic’s $36,890 plus on-road costs – or $37,556 to $39,552 drive-away, depending on the state of registration – which could put BYD back in contention for the race for Australia’s most affordable electric car.
The current title holder is the GWM Ora, listed for $35,990 drive-away nationwide – which is $8500 to $11,900 cheaper than the same car was at its launch nearly 18 months ago.
MORE: Electric cars Australia: Cheapest, best and newest electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids
If the Essential is in fact not as well equipped, it would represent an unexpected turn in strategy for BYD which said 12 months ago it had no plans to cut equipment from its cars to hit a sharper price point.
The company has elected to pack all of its vehicles with a similar level of luxury features – and differentiate model grades by battery size and electric motor power to achieve different prices.
Luke Todd, managing director of BYD’s Australian director EVDirect, told Drive prior to the Dolphin’s launch last year “taking things out is not what we’ve been about,” and “when you buy BYD, you know you’re getting all of the good stuff.”
“We’ve been about just not upselling to make people pay crazy money to get the sunroof, to get the extra speakers or whatever it is. We want to give all customers the best value and the best car that we can at the right price.”
“Unfortunately, there is no confirmation of new product beyond what has already been acknowledged,” a BYD Australia spokesperson told Drive.
“At this stage we don’t have any information on additional variants to the range.”
Half-year sales data shows 1248 examples of the BYD Dolphin have been reported as sold so far this year, compared to 2771 MG 4s – but only 592 GWM Oras.
Last month’s result of 204 deliveries is the first month-on-month sales increase for the Dolphin this year.
After 589 deliveries were reported in November 2023 – as the first vehicles were handed over to pre-order customers – sales dropped to 256 in January 2024, followed by 219 in February, 213 in March, 181 in April and 175 in May.
The post New BYD Dolphin variant poised for return to electric-car price war appeared first on Drive.
