BYD Dolphin launching in Malaysia on 28 July: Is this the best EV under RM130K?

[ UPDATE 2 27/7/2023 03:15 ] The official price of the BYD Dolphin EV in Malaysia has been revealed.

[ UPDATE 17/7/2023 12:58 ] The launch of BYD Dolphin EV in Malaysia will take place on 27 July instead.

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BYD Dolphin EV will be making its way to Malaysia later this month. This was confirmed by BYD Sime Darby Motors Malaysia via Facebook and Instagram.

The confirmation came just a day after the company first teases the imminent arrival of the EV in Malaysia. While the name of the EV was once again not explicitly mentioned on today’s social media post, the silhouette of the EV and the usage of dolphin imagery as the “loading status” generally confirmed that it is referring to the BYD Dolphin.

In addition to that, BYD Sime Darby Motors Malaysia has also opened up the Registration of Interest page for the new EV. Through the form, one can sign up for a test drive session at any of the 11 BYD showrooms nationwide.

A quick look at BYD Dolphin

It is not yet known at the moment which variant of the BYD Dolphin will be launched in Malaysia. If we consider Thailand as an example, then we are looking at Standard Range and Extended Range variants which were the arrangement that BYD has made for the Atto 3.

The Dolphin Standard Range carries a single electric motor with 70kW (95hp) output and 180Nm of torque. It essentially provides the EV with the capability to sprint from 0 to 100km/h in 12.3 seconds.

Powered by a 44.9kWh BYD Blade battery pack, this variant has a WLTP range of 340km. Charging-wise, there is an onboard 7kW AC charger while the EV also able to support DC fast charging at up to 60kW.

The Dolphin Extended Range offers a higher WLTP range of 427km, thanks to the inclusion of a much higher capacity battery pack of 60.48kWh. This variant also has a much better 0 – 100km/h timing of 7 seconds since it has a more powerful 150kW electric motor with 310Nm of torque.

While the Dolphin Extended Range still has the same 7kW onboard AC charger, its DC fast charging is slightly better at up to 80kW instead of 70kW. Furthermore, the higher-end variant also features multi-link suspension instead of a torsion beam setup on the Standard Range model.

How much does will the BYD Dolphin cost in Malaysia?

As noted in our report yesterday, we don’t expect the BYD Dolphin to have a starting price of under RM100,000 despite the pricing in Thailand. As a reference, the Dolphin Standard Range has a starting price of THB699,999 (~RM91,567) while the Extended Range can be obtained for THB859,999 (~RM112,436) over there.

This is mainly because the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) currently prohibits new CBU EVs to be priced at under RM100,000 as noted in the current Franchise AP regulation. That being said, the Dolphin should be priced below RM150,000 since it is a much smaller car than the Atto 3.

Hence, we estimate that the price for Dolphin Standard Range in Malaysia will be between RM110,000 to RM120,000. For the Extended Range, the figure would be slightly higher at RM125,000 to RM135,000. All shall be revealed during the BYD Dolphin launch in Malaysia at the end of this month.