BYD Co. is raising the stakes in Europe’s race for cheaper electric vehicles with the European launch of the Dolphin Surf, a fully-electric hatchback that will sell for less than €23,000 ($26,100).
The Chinese manufacturer presented the model in Berlin on Wednesday, announcing that the standard version with a range of 220 kilometers (137 miles) will be priced at €19,990 in Germany until the end of June and cost €22,990 after that. The car offers premium features like a rotating touchscreen, keyless entry and advanced cruise control features.
The launch of the model will likely strengthen BYD’s foothold in Europe at a time when Chinese EV makers have been losing momentum on the continent. European automakers struggled to compete with their Chinese counterparts on price, but are now starting to bring out more affordable models for the masses.
The four-seater Dolphin Surf, which will be delivered to customers from June, will be priced on par with electric runabouts that Stellantis NV, Renault SA and others are banking on to catch up in the EV era. Renault’s electric R5 starts at €25,000, while its recently-unveiled Twingo E-Tech and Stellantis’ Citroën’s ë-C3 city car are expected to start with price tags of less than €20,000.
Volkswagen AG will launch its ID.2all compact EV next year starting at €25,000 and plans to offer a smaller EV costing around €20,000 in 2027.
BYD’s Dolphin Surf is a modified and slightly longer version of its Seagull hatchback, which it sells for less than $10,000 in China and for about $20,000 in Mexico, where it’s called the Dolphin Mini.
The Dolphin Surf will be manufactured in China and subject to the European Union’s tariffs on EVs made in the Asian country. The carmaker is currently building factories in Hungary and Turkey to make hybrids and EVs to avoid the duties.
The company sold more than 1 million cars globally in the first quarter and surpassed Tesla Inc. in EV sales for the second quarter in a row. –BLOOMBERG
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