Remember the BYD Seagull electric hatchback that was launched in China last year? Now, the company has just launched a slightly larger version of this vehicle in Europe, but is calling its Dolphin Surf. The changes in dimensions are due to the redesigned front and rear bumper elements which also lend a new look to this vehicle. Let’s take a closer look.
BYD Dolphin Surf EV
Seagull, a popular small and affordable electric hatchback from BYD has been popular in a popular vehicle in China. It is known as Dolphin Mini as well, which is not really related to the Dolphin, which was recently updated to MY26 version.
Sticking with BYD Dolphin Surf launched in Europe, it looks like a slightly redesigned and updated version of Seagull EV. Where pricing is concerned, BYD Dolphin Surf starts from EUR 19,990 (~Rs 19.33 lakh) for the base Active trim, EUR 23,380 (~Rs 22.61 lakh) for mid Boost trim and EUR 25,880 (~Rs 25.03 lakh) for top-spec Comfort trim.
It has to be noted that these are early bird prices which are valid till the end of June 2025. Post that, Active trim will cost EUR 22,390 (~Rs 21.66 lakh), Boost will cost EUR 25,390 (~Rs 24.56 lakh) and Comfort will cost EUR 27,890 (~Rs 26.98 lakh). BYD Dolphin Surf is underpinned by the company’s e-Platform 3.0 architecture.
Design changes from Seagull
When compared to Seagull sold in China, BYD Dolphin Surf is a slightly redesigned and slightly larger vehicle. Starting with design, we can see new front and rear bumpers along with all-new side body claddings that lend a unique look. We get a large BYD logo at the front and rear. The interiors are more or less carried over as they were including the 10.1-inch rotatable infotainment screen.
Dolphin Surf also gets ADAS suite, which is needed for a few mandated features in Europe like auto emergency braking, among others. Dimensionally, BYD Dolphin Surf measures 3,990 mm in length, 1,720 mm in width, and 1,590 mm in height and has a 2,500 mm long wheelbase. This makes it 210 mm longer, 5 mm wider and 50 mm taller than Seagull.
Powertrain details
Base Active comes with a 30 kWh battery pack with 220 km range and higher trims get 43.2 kWh battery with up to 322 km range. Boost trim shares the same 88 PS electric motor with the base Active trim, while Comfort trim gets a more powerful 156 PS motor. All trims are FWD only and the top speed pegged for BYD Dolphin Surf is 150 km/h.
For context, Seagull EV sold in China get 75 PS and 95 PS electric motor options and are powered by smaller 30 kWh and 38 kWh battery packs. For European market, BYD Dolphin Surf is offering 11 kW AC charging and 80 kW DC charging support, which is much faster than Seagull’s 6.6 kW AC and 40 KW DC capabilities. BYD has yet to comment about launching Seagull or Dolphin Surf in India.
Source: Electric - rushlane.com
