BYD Seagull will be released in some international markets with a new name. Revealed through a short video on the company’s social media pages, the EV will be called the Dolphin Mini in these markets.
First introduced at the Shanghai Auto Show last April, the BYD Seagull is a fully electric compact hatchback that is part of the brand’s Ocean series alongside Dolphin, Seal, Sea Lion 07, and Destroyer 05. It is essentially the smallest model that the series has to offer.
South America is the first international market for Seagull/Dolphin Mini
While BYD’s global social media page only mentioned the name earlier this month, it was not the first time that the Dolphin Mini’s name was mentioned. BYD used the name before when it showcased the EV at the Salón del Automóvil in Bogota, Columbia last November.
Based on what we observed so far, BYD has generally made South America the debut market for the Dolphin Mini. The EV is now readily available in Uruguay while it will be made available later this year in Brazil and Columbia as well.
Over in Uruguay, the EV is still being called Seagull though and can be obtained in two variants including the EV300 with a CLTC-rated range of 300km that is priced at USD 21,990 (RM105,202). On another hand, there is also the higher-end variant EV400 which offers 400km of range and goes for USD23,990 (~RM114,771).
As a comparison, the Seagull price in China ranges from CNY73,800 (~RM49,127) to CNY89,900 (~RM59,778).
Don’t expect it to come to Malaysia anytime soon though
It might be exciting to see that BYD is bringing out the Seagull to the international market but don’t expect it to be available in Malaysia anytime soon though. Considering that the Dolphin already has a starting price of around RM100k, the Seagull/Dolphin Mini has to be priced much lower than that in Malaysia.
Unfortunately, that is rather impossible given the RM100k base price policy that the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) has imported on imported Completely Built Up (CBU) EVs. Unless BYD is willing to set up a local assembly operation in Malaysia using a Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kit, there is no way that Seagull/Dolphin Mini can be priced much lower than Dolphin.
In addition to that, we haven’t heard any news regarding the right-hand drive (RHD) variant for this particular EV. On a related note, the Malaysian launch of BYD Seal is happening at The Exchange TRX next week.
BYD Seagull/Dolphin Mini quick specs
Over in China, the Seagull can be obtained in three editions including Vitality, Freedom, and Flying. Despite that, all three variants have been fitted with the same 55kW (74hp) electric motor.
The rather modest front-mounted motor also produces 135Nm of torque. BYD China didn’t list down the EV’s century sprint timing but has said that the Seagull can accelerate from 0 to 50km/h in 4.9 seconds although InsideEVs Brasil noted that the car takes around 13 seconds to reach 100km/h from a standstill while its maximum speed is 130km/h.
Both Vitality and Freedom trims have been fitted with the same 30.08kWh battery pack which is why they have the same CLTC-rated range of 305km. Meanwhile, the Flying Edition features a larger 38.88kWh battery pack which helped extend its range to 405km.
Another factor that sets them apart is their DC fast charging capability as the Vitality and Freedom trims maxed out at 30kW but the Flying Edition can support up to 40kW.
Regardless of the variant, BYD claimed that all Seagull takes around 30 minutes of charging time to go from 30% to 80% when plugged into a DC fast charger. Even though their battery capacities and DC fast charging rates are different, all Seagull for the Chinese market comes standard with a 6.6kW onboard AC charger.
