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So far this year, between January and May 2026, 62,388 plug-in hybrid cars have been sold in Spain. 16% of these sales are accumulated by BYD Seal U DM-i and BYD Atto 2 DM-ithe two best-selling cars in Spain powered by this technology. A proposal that is not only the best-selling, has also opened a gap with the Toyota C-HR which last year fought to be the best-selling in Spain among plug-in hybrids. The Chinese company has found a market niche to exploit. The first of those mentioned above served as a thermometer to verify that the water in the electric car pool was still somewhat cold in our country and that it was worth betting on a technology that, as they told us On the brand presentation day back in 2023, they were not going to offer. Now, with the spaces of the large plug-in hybrid family SUV and the compact SUV covered, the urban SUV remained to be covered. A segment where, directly, the company does not have any type of rival. And the fact is that electrifying the B segment and the concessions that have to be made with it have discouraged manufacturers. The BYD Dolphin G DM-i arrives with the purpose of being a best-seller where it has no rival. BYD Dolphin G DM-i technical data sheet byd Dolphin (204 HP with 60.4 kWh battery) BODY TYPE. Compact five-seater SUV MEASUREMENTS AND WEIGHT. 4,160 meters long, 1,770 meters wide, 1,570 meters high and 2,700 meters wheelbase. Weight to be confirmed. TRUNK. 425 liters. MAXIMUM POWER. 156 kW (212 hp) WLTP CONSUMPTION. Active version: 2.6 l/100 km and 40 km of autonomy Boost, Comfort and Sport version: 1.4 l/100 km and 105 km of autonomy ENVIRONMENTAL DISTINCTIVE. Zero emissions DRIVING AIDS (ADAS). Automatic emergency braking, intelligent speed limit information, detection of vehicles in the blind spot, intelligent cruise control, LED lighting, 360º parking camera, rear parking sensors. OTHERS. Own software compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Google services starting with Boost version or higher. 10.1-inch (Active) and 12.8-inch (Boost, Comfort and Sport) screen. Heated seats and steering wheel. ELECTRIC HYBRID. No. Plug-in HYBRID. Yeah. Active version: 175 HP and 40 km of autonomy Boost, Comfort and Sport version: 212 HP and 105 km of autonomy electric No. price and release Now available without aid or discounts: Active: €25,200 Boost: €28,200 Comfort: €29,700 Sport: €30,700 Now available with (advance) aid and discounts: Active: €18,700 Boost: €21,376 Comfort: €22,846 Sport: €23,826 When you are your own rival On March 31, 2023 we counted the arrival of BYD to Spain. 27 days later we tell that Plug-in hybrids are not for small cars. In that article we explained that the B segment was left orphaned by plug-in hybridization with the discontinuation of the Renault Captur that featured this technology. The plug-in hybrid in the low ranges has had two obvious problems. The first, almost testimonial trunks, victims of much larger batteries than those of a non-plug-in hybrid. And, above all, the price. Electrifying this type of car was so expensive that the final cost for the customer skyrocketed. The result was very low sales and a price that kept rising to compensate. In the case of the Renault Captur, In 2020 the car already cost 30,160 euros (today it would be 37,941 euros, using the INE calculator to update the price). The SUV could cover 50 kilometers in completely electric mode and its trunk was reduced from more than 400 liters of the non-electrified versions to just 265 liters. It’s not the worst. Compared to the basic versions, the plug-in hybrid was 151% more expensive in 2023 than the more modest options, making it difficult to justify the investment. The departure of the Captur seemed to represent the death of the small plug-in hybrid. But BYD has set out to conquer this market as well. The same old BYD recipe “The BYD Dolphin G DM-i is an electric car to which we added an efficient 98 HP 1.5 naturally aspirated engine,” BYD tells us before we get into the cars. And, perhaps, that is the key to everything. Until now, what we have seen among plug-in hybrids were adaptations of combustion versions to a more electrified proposal, putting the batteries where they could. BYD’s small plug-in hybrid comes from the opposite proposal. The car is based on the electric car, which allows it to add a battery without sacrificing trunk space. That is why the most modest version has a 7.4 kWh battery that allows it to travel 40 kilometers, but the most ambitious ones increase this to 18.3 kWh and reach 105 kilometers in completely electric mode according to the WLTP combined cycle. In the city, the autonomy reaches up to 150 km before depleting the battery. This allows you to kill two birds with one stone. The first thing is that the trunk and space for rear passengers remains intact, with a cargo space of 425 liters, which keeps it a very valid option for long trips. The second thing is that it works as a parallel series hybrid. That is, the vast majority of the time, it is the electric motors that drive the wheels and, if necessary, the gasoline engine can do the same but most of the time it will act as an electricity generator for the battery. With this system, the car feels like an electric car and the engine works at the most efficient rpm, where it consumes less energy to fill the battery. If necessary, when more power is unexpectedly demanded, that is when the gasoline engine also pushes the wheels. In these cases, the car can develop up to 175 HP of power in the small battery option and 212 HP in the large battery option. Consumption notices it. BYD approves a consumption of 2.6 l/100 km for the small battery and only 1.4 l/100 km for the large battery according to the WLTP cycle. But, in addition, the … Read more