Categories: Technology

This is China’s answer to VW Golf and ID.3

New challenger for VW: The BYD Dolphin is coming to Europe this year – but the Chinese electric vehicle doesn’t come cheap.

Chinese manufacturers are also increasingly penetrating the compact model market. BYD – the second largest electric car and the third largest battery manufacturer in the world – now shows a handsome five-door that, at 4.29 meters, is almost as long as the VW Golf to the nearest millimetre.

But BYD’s e-car can do what the Golf can’t: it only runs emission-free. The Dolphin is therefore the Chinese counterpart to VW’s compact electric car ID.3.

A 150 kW/204 hp electric motor powers the BYD, which enables acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in seven seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h. With a battery capacity of 60 kWh, the car has a WLTP range of 427 kilometers. Fast charging with direct current is possible up to a capacity of 88 kW, charging from 30 to 80 percent takes about 30 minutes.

Performance, range, acceleration and top speed correspond to the VW ID.3, but the Germans offer significantly faster charging and an additional variant with a larger battery (77 kWh) and therefore a larger range.

The interior of the Dolphin offers space for five people and a trunk that is expandable from 345 to 1,310 liters (ID.3: 385 or 1,267 liters). While driving, the driver looks at a small color display that shows important information. Everything else is located in the center of the cockpit on a large touchscreen that can be aligned both horizontally and vertically.

The launch of the Dolphin is expected before the summer, prices in Germany would be between 30,000 and 38,000 euros, with an entry-level price for a variant with a smaller 44 kWh battery that will probably be available later. For comparison: VW’s ID.3 is available in Germany with the 58 kWh battery from 40,000 euros. The cheaper basic model of the ID.3 with a 45 kWh battery has not been for sale for a long time, but should be included in the range again.

BYD is not yet active in Switzerland, so it is unknown if and when the Dolphin will be available here.

In Germany and other European countries, BYD (Build Your Dreams) also wants to launch the electric luxury SUV Tang, the middle class sedan Seal and the business sedan Han.

The car brand was created when BYD Company Limited took over the state-owned manufacturer Xian Qinhuan Automobile. BYD was one of the largest car manufacturers in China last year with about 1.5 million new cars.

(t-online/oli)

Source: Watson

Share
Published by
Ella

Recent Posts

Terror suspect Chechen ‘hanged himself’ in Russian custody Egyptian President al-Sisi has been sworn in for a third term

On the same day of the terrorist attack on the Krokus City Hall in Moscow,…

1 year ago

Locals demand tourist tax for Tenerife: “Like a cancer consuming the island”

class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/4Residents of Tenerife have had enough of noisy and dirty tourists.It's too loud, the…

1 year ago

Agreement reached: this is how much Tuchel will receive for his departure from Bayern

class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/7Packing his things in Munich in the summer: Thomas Tuchel.After just over a year,…

1 year ago

Worst earthquake in 25 years in Taiwan +++ Number of deaths increased Is Russia running out of tanks? Now ‘Chinese coffins’ are used

At least seven people have been killed and 57 injured in severe earthquakes in the…

1 year ago

Now the moon should also have its own time (and its own clocks). These 11 photos and videos show just how intense the Taiwan earthquake was

The American space agency NASA would establish a uniform lunar time on behalf of the…

1 year ago

This is how the Swiss experienced the earthquake in Taiwan: “I saw a crack in the wall”

class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/8Bode Obwegeser was surprised by the earthquake while he was sleeping. “It was a…

1 year ago