New BYD Dolphin G to arrive this year as plug-in hybrid small car
BYD’s first model designed for Europe will be a combustion version of its cheapest EV...
On sale Late 2026 Price from £16,000 (est)
The plug-in hybrid small car market is practically non-existent at the moment, but BYD is determined to change that with an all-new combustion-engined version of its smallest electric city car, in the form of the BYD Dolphin G.
Due to be unveiled over the coming weeks ahead of its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July, the Dolphin G will serve as the ICE counterpart to the Dolphin Surf, an electric small car, rivals of which include the Citroën ë-C3 and Renault 5. The new model, however, will occupy a very sparsely-populated space in the market as a PHEV. Most similarly-sized electrified rivals, such as the Honda Jazz, Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris, use regular hybrid set-ups without the need to plug in.
The Dolphin G is expected to be powered by the same set-up as in the recently-revealed BYD Atto 2 DM-i small SUV. That means it’ll likely combine a 1.5-litre petrol engine generator with an electric motor driving the front wheels and a battery. In the Atto 2 PHEV’s most potent form, it produces up to 208bhp, with an official electric-only range of 55 miles. However, due to the Dolphin G’s compact size, it could have some smaller figures from a lower-capacity unit.
It’ll be the first BYD model designed specifically for Europe, unlike its other cars, which are adapted from models already on sale in China. As such, the Dolphin G could possibly be manufactured at BYD’s new factory in Hungary.
Prices have yet to be confirmed, but we’d expect the Dolphin G to be even cheaper than its EV counterpart, which currently starts at £18,675. That would put the Dolphin G among the cheapest cars on sale, undercutting even non-electrified rivals like the Clio and MG 3.
BYD will also launch the Ti7 seven-seater later this year – a Land Rover Defender-sized off-road-ready SUV featuring plug-in hybrid power.
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