BYD Seal and Dolphin EVs Previewed in Malaysia – Coming Soon?

The BYD Atto 3’s Malaysian launch marks the Chinese EV marque’s foray into our local EV market space. Throughout the launching event, yet another milestone was achieved by BYD as it brought up the Seal and Dolphin EVs, exclusively previewed for the first time nationally.

Starting with BYD Seal, the four-door saloon EV boasts a coupe-like silhouette, thanks to its slanting roofline that goes all the way back to its rear part, mimicking a sport back. The Seal takes some design cues from its SUV cousin, the Atto 3, boasting similar looking headlights and wheels.

Known as the Seal in the Chinese market, chances are BYD will rename it to Atto 4 for the international markets including Malaysia, should BYD someday decide to launch it here.

Coming in four trim levels for its domestic market, the two baseline Seal variants – the RWD Elite and Premium – boast a rear-mounted single motor that outputs around 201 HP, powered by a 61.4-kWh Blade battery pack. Said battery gives both Elite and Premium Seal a maximum travel range of 550 KM, as well as a 7.5 seconds finish in a 0-100 KM/H sprint.

The mid-spec Long Range RWD Seal also comes with a single rear motor rated at 308 HP. Mated with said powertrain is an 82.5-kWh battery pack that boosts its range to 700 KM. The more powerful powertrain also enables the Long Range RWD Seal to complete a 0-100 KM/H sprint in only 5.9 seconds.

Finally, the range-topper Long Range AWD Seal comes with a dual-motor setup, as the name suggests. With a total output of 523HP, this top-spec Seal completes a 0-100 KM/H drag in only 3.9 seconds. Boasting a similar battery pack as its RWD twin, the Long Range AWD is only capable of 650 KM maximum travel range, thanks to its power-thirsty dual motors.

Also previewed during said event is the BYD Dolphin. The B-segment EV hatch boasts a rather typical hatch body shape with dual-tone finish to accentuate its sporty roofline. The blackened wheel arches and its relatively ‘tall’ ride height really give this compact hatch some sort of SUV-esque look.

Powering the Dolphin is a single motor rated at 94 HP and 180 NM that gets juiced by a 44.9-kWh Blade battery pack. On full charge, this baseline Dolphin is capable of a maximum claimed travel range at 405 KM.

Its range-topping variant comes with a much powerful powertrain that outputs 174 HP and 290 NM. Powered by a similar battery pack as its lower-spec twin, its claimed maximum travel range receives a slight downgrade, which reads at 401 KM.

In the Chinese domestic market, the BYD Seal price starts at around CNY 222,274 (RM140,404), with the top-of-the-line Long Range AWD variant commanding an estimated CNY 286,800 (RM180,998) price tag. As for the Dolphin, its initial price starts at around CNY 94,000 (RM59,323) for the baseline model.

As for now, BYD and its local distribution arm Sime Darby Beyond Auto (SDBA) have yet to announce any official plans to bring these two previewed models into the Malaysian market. However, numerous local reports suggested that said models might make their local market debut by the end of 2023.

Should said reports be true, the BYD Dolphin would make an excellent entry-level EV. Considering the Atto 3’s RM150K price tag, it would hit the market pretty good if SDBA managed to cap its price around the RM100K mark.

As for the Seal, it would make a promising case against the likes of other locally-available EV sedans such as the BMW i4, should SDBA price it beneath the RM300K price point. For comparison, the new BMW i4 eDrive40 M Sport is priced at RM389,800.

Folks, what do you think of these two BYD models previewed? Should SDBA bring them into our local market? As always, don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below.