BYD Dolphin gets a facelift a year and a half after launch

The compact-sized BYD Dolphin came out last summer and was the company’s first production car to make use of a Gen.3 modular platform known as e3.0, which combined 800V charging with numerous other improvements. The car became a hit with over 230,000 units sold so far and another 25,000 selling every month, but BYD still felt it needed a minor refresh.

You can watch the video for the pre-facelift version and compare it to the new car in the photos here. As you can see, the exterior modifications are small and nuanced. Most of the novelty can be found on the rear bumper, the wheels and the paint coat choices. The tailgate window now has a wiper again – the concept had it as well, but BYD ditched it in production to cut costs.

Inside, the rear bench now comes with a sectioned back. It folds down in a 60:40 ratio and features a foldable armrest in the middle. Front seat heating, front passenger seat power adjustments and automatic power windows are all available as paid options.

The entry spec with a 30.7-kWh battery, 301 kilometers of range and a basic multimedia system with a 10-inch display is no longer on sale. Instead, all versions now ship with a larger LiFePo4 battery rated at 44.9 kWh and a more advanced multimedia system with a 12.8-inch touchscreen.

The entry-level electric motor rated at 95 PS (94 hp / 70 kW) and 180 Nm (133 lb-ft) remains available and benefits from software calibrations. As a result, it is now NEDC-rated for 420 kilometers of range instead of 405. The top spec still has 177 PS (175 hp / 130 kW) and 290 Nm (214 lb-ft) of torque, and covers the same 401 km as before the update.

The prices for the old BYD Dolphin ranged from $14,700 to 18,800. But now that the base trim level is gone, you can expect to pay $16,800–19,600 depending on the version.