BYD Launches The Extremely Anticipated Dolphin Surf In South Africa, Opening Electrical Automobiles To The Mass Market

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Three years in the past, I wrote an article titled “South Africa Wants Cheaper Electrical Vehicles ASAP!” following a examine that confirmed over 70% of South Africans can be fascinated by switching to electrical if they’d the choice to purchase an electrical car that prices lower than R500,000 ($30,000).

South Africans have been starved of inexpensive electrical automobiles as a consequence of a variety of causes. Excessive import duties and taxes — petrol and diesel automobiles imported from the EU into South Africa have a customs responsibility of 18%, whereas for electrical automobiles it’s 25%. There are additionally the Advert Valorem Customs Excise Duties and VAT. The South African authorities ought to at the least cut back the import duties to match the 18% for ICE automobiles. In truth, they might study from a number of governments on the African continent which have lowered and even eliminated import duties for BEVs utterly to encourage adoption. Nations which have lowered or eliminated import duties on BEVs embrace Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritius, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, amongst a number of others. A lot of the automobiles on the South African market on the time have been largely the extra premium variations, priced properly over R1 million rand, presenting a excessive barrier for many shoppers.

The excessive import duties and taxes are nonetheless in place, which is an actual disgrace, nonetheless, there may be some excellent news! BYD Auto South Africa is ready to make waves within the native electrical car market with the launch of its daring and compact hatchback, the Dolphin Surf. Often known as the Seagull in its house market, China, the Dolphin Mini, and in addition the ATTO 1 in some markets, the Dolphin Surf has landed in South Africa at a really engaging start line. With a launch value beneath R400,000, the Dolphin Surf represents a game-changing step towards making eco-conscious driving accessible to extra South Africans than ever earlier than.

BYD says the launch of the Dolphin Surf marks a pivotal second for the native EV panorama, because it addresses the important thing boundaries of value and accessibility which have beforehand restricted market development. With its mixture of a aggressive value level, sensible design, and superior options, the BYD Dolphin Surf guarantees to carry a brand new wave of drivers into the electrical car phase.

Two fashions can be found in South Africa, the Consolation and the Dynamic. Here’s a abstract of the specs of each fashions.

Each fashions have a everlasting magnet synchronous motor with peak motor energy of 55kW and 135Nm of torque. Each fashions have a most velocity of 130km/h. The Consolation accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 14.2 seconds, whereas the Dynamic achieves that in 15.5 seconds.

BYD says the Dolphin Surf is designed as the last word city automotive — compact, fashionable, and completely suited to navigating busy metropolis streets with ease. Measuring 3,925mm in size, the car gives sensible and spacious interiors, making it a compelling possibility for a variety of consumers, from younger professionals to households and entrepreneurs. Beneath the hood, the EV options BYD’s revolutionary Blade Battery, famend globally for its security, sturdiness and efficiency. The car is out there with two battery choices: a 30kWh unit offering as much as a 220km WLTP vary and a 38.8kWh unit providing as much as a 295km WLTP vary.

“The BYD Dolphin Surf represents our perception that sustainable mobility shouldn’t be out of attain, it must be an thrilling, on a regular basis actuality for actual folks, in actual cities, residing actual lives,” says Ming Xing, Model and Advertising Supervisor.

“Whether or not you’re navigating the busy streets of Joburg, heading all the way down to Cape City’s seaside, or making the morning college run in Durban, the Dolphin Surf is designed on your life — quiet, clean, and type to the planet.”

The BYD Dolphin Surf has not too long ago achieved the utmost five-star Euro NCAP security score, setting a brand new benchmark in its class. BYD says as the one compact EV in its vary to safe this recognition, the Dolphin Surf gives distinctive safety for each adults and youngsters, alongside superior safety-assist methods that guarantee peace of thoughts on each journey. Combining security, innovation, and accessibility, the Dolphin Surf proves that an inexpensive electrical car can ship world-class efficiency with out compromise.

The South African BEV market urgently wants a lift and maybe the introduction of the BYD Dolphin Surf may simply be what’s wanted. Gross sales of BEVs look to be stagnating and we not seeing the identical explosive development we’re seeing in South Africa’s PHEV market. Within the first six months of 2025, simply 570 BEVs have been bought in South Africa. That’s about half of the whole variety of BEVs bought in South Africa in the entire of 2024. 515,712 automobiles have been bought in South Africa in 2024 and just one,257 BEVs have been bought in 2024. That’s nonetheless very low! With solely 3,212 BEVs bought since 2018, it’s clear to see that gross sales of BEVs have been gradual in South Africa.

Let’s check out which BEVs topped South Africa’s BEV charts in H1 of 2025.

The Volvo EX30, which topped the BEV charts in 2024, maintained its lead, promoting essentially the most models within the first 6 months of 2025 as properly. 70 models of the Volvo EX30 have been bought through the first 6 months of 2025 in South Africa, adopted by 54 models of the Mercedes-Benz EQE. The Volvo EX30 begins from R835,500 and the Mercedes-Benz EQE begins from R1,727,95. So the highest 2 greatest promoting BEVs in South Africa are priced from manner above the R500,000 most shoppers can afford. With the Dolphin Surf ranging from slightly below R350,000, it actually may inject life into the South African market if BYD can carry a whole lot of them into the nation and actually get the phrase out to folks that there’s now a extra inexpensive BEV in the marketplace. The V2L perform can also be a cool characteristic to have on a car and will turn out to be useful in South Africa the place folks like to fireplace up the grill and have a braai on the go. 

Photographs courtesy of BYD