- The BYD Seagull is now the Dolphin Surf for European markets.
- The powertrain, battery and bumpers have been upgraded for its entrance for Europe.
- BYD says deliveries for the Seagull will start in June.
BYD’s Seagull is a top-selling car in China for good reason. It’s small, yet fully featured, priced right at the heart of the affordable EV battle. It’s consistently at the top of the sales charts in China and has already done well in other foreign markets, where it’s already making headway. Now, it’s Europe’s turn to get in on the BYD Seagull fun. The brand has announced its intention to sell the Segaull in select European markets as the BYD Dolphin Surf.
Now, it’s not quite a one-to-one direct import from China, like the Seagull turned Dolphin Mini for markets in the ASEAN region or Latin America. Like its larger brother, the Dolphin, the BYD Seagull has a few specific revisions to make the car more palatable for audiences in Western Europe. They both offer roughly the same Lamborghini-in-the-city esque styling, but the European market version is a full 8 inches longer. Most of the length appears to have gone to the revised nose and tail, which protrude out a bit more than the ones on the Chinese version.
There have been some under-the-skin enhancements, too. The 75 horsepower motor is gone; now the Dolphin Surf comes with either 87 horsepower in its lower Active and Boost trims or 156 horsepower in its top trim, called Comfort. The 30 kWh battery is still there in base Active, but the top two trims have a new 43.2 kWh battery, which isn’t available on its Chinese cousin. This may not sound like a lot of power, but keep in mind the Seagull/Dolphin Surf is about the same size as the old Chevrolet Spark EV.
There’s a lot of stuff here on the Dolphin Surf. The rear seats now split and fold, compared to the one-piece folding seatback in the Chinese version. With the switch to the new motor and battery come upgrades in the car’s charging capability. The onboard AC charger has jumped from 6.6 kW to 11 kW. The max DC fast charging speed is up significantly from 40 kW to 65 kW on base Active 30 kWh trims, and 85 kW on models with the 43.2 kWh battery. BYD claims the Dolphin Surf will sprint from 10-80% in about 30 minutes, no matter the trim and battery size.
In all, the BYD Dolphin Surf will go up to 200 miles (322 km, WLTP) on a full charge when equipped with the large battery in mid-tier Active trim. This beats the Dacia Spring, with literally double the scary-slow Spring’s 44 horsepower. The Dolphin Surf seems to match the Fiat Grande Panda EV tit for tat, both in range and power.
This could be BYD’s most important model for Europe. Its physical dimensions are right on the money for most European cities. It also looks to be quicker and better equipped than some of the smaller European EVs. Of course, pricing is key here, and that’s a big question here, especially since the EU may implement pricing minimums on imported Chinese EVs to Europe. The roughly $11,000 (USD) price may make headlines, but all these changes likely mean this car will be more expensive. We’ll just have to see how much more expensive it is when deliveries start this June.
Gallery: BYD Dolphin Surf (EU Spec)
Will traditional Western OEMs have what it takes to fend off BYD’s quest for world EV domination on their home turf? I guess we’ll find out soon.
Update: 5/21/2025, 12:30 EDT: BYD has released pricing. The Dolphin Surf will start at $26,000 (22,900 EUR) for a base Active trim. BYD has temporarily dropped the price to $22,600 (19,990 EUR) until the end of the month of June.
Contact the author: Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com
