Author: Gao Shangpei
BYD’s slogan for its Dolphin is “the ocean leopard edition”. As expected, its sales have broken 10,000 units for three consecutive months in the fourth quarter, with a fierce upward trend. In December, the Dolphin sold 15,378 units, with a cumulative sales of 51,200 units in 2022. It should be noted that this is not the full potential of the Dolphin, as BYD has been determining its sales based on production capacity for the past two years. You never know how many orders are in the queue, and the Dolphin has only been delivered for five months with production capacity still on the rise. As production capacity is released in the future, we believe that there will be greater room for sales growth.
In addition to having a robust appearance, the Dolphin also has strong performance. For example, the 700 km long-range rear-wheel-drive version has the power to accelerate to 100 km/h (0-60 mph) in 5.9 seconds, a CLTC range of 700 km, and a battery capacity of 82.5 kWh. The Dolphin achieves a perfect balance between performance and energy consumption thanks to its lightweight design and efficient integrated system. It has stronger energy management capabilities compared to other performance cars of the same level, leading to a higher rate of battery life retention. Thanks to this, the Dolphin achieved a good result of third place in the pure electric vehicle ranking during the cold-weather range test conducted by auto media site DCD.
This car has a high level of specification, strong comprehensive strength, and can be called the hexagonal warrior among pure electric intermediate sedans priced between CNY 200,000 to CNY 300,000. This is the result of its status as BYD’s e-platform 3.0 technology.
Continuous Increase in Sales
Since the small volume deliveries in late August, BYD Dolphin’s sales have been on an upward trend. This is somewhat related to its production capacity being in the climbing stage. As of the day of listing, Dolphin’s orders had exceeded 60,000 units. In October, sales exceeded 10,000 units, while sales exceeded 15,000 units in November and December, firmly holding the crown of the new energy mid-size sedan for sale volume. At present, it seems that the Dolphin is still digesting the orders accumulated in the early stages, and the conversion rate of pre-order users is high. With the climbing monthly sales of the Dolphin, we expect it to lead the domestic mid-size sedan market and consolidate its benchmark position.
## Why the Haibao is So Popular?
What is the specific reason for the popularity of the Haibao? In order to clarify this issue, I went to several stores to ask. In addition to the love for Haibao’s high-value sports car appearance, most consumers value its ultra-long range and unique driving pleasure, and the 700km long-range rear-wheel drive version has become the preferred model for many users. It fundamentally solves the range anxiety problem of pure electric models, with more balanced performance and richer configurations, it can give young users more sense of security, and therefore it is very popular in the market.
From sales, the current cars delivered by Haibao are mainly in North Ice Blue and Atlantis Grey, and Aurora White and Wind Rolling Grass Green are not yet in stores. In terms of configuration, the 700km long-range rear-wheel drive version is the main model, while the 550km standard range rear-wheel drive version and the 650km four-wheel drive performance version are only partially delivered to stores. This is due to the production capacity of the BYD Haibao, mainly meeting the needs of most consumers under a large number of orders and delivery pressure, and then adding other configurations to the production line as production capacity gradually ramps up. On the contrary, it can be imagined that the monthly sales of Haibao have exceeded 15,000 vehicles, even though the colors of the car body and various configurations are still not fully supplied.
Currently, what we observe is five months of delivery data for the Haibao. With the further climb of production capacity, this masterpiece with explosive strength is believed to show its true leadership strength in 2023, becoming a new benchmark for pure electric sports sedans and leading the market.
Domestic Pure Electric Sedan with High Value
What is explosive power? First, let’s talk about appearance. It is said that Aige has opened a new design era for BYD, but personally, I think the Haibao is Aige’s masterpiece. The new “Ocean Aesthetics” design concept perfectly combines the overall shape of the car with the ocean theme. The Haibao is a representative of the current trend of youthful aesthetics and automotive sports style, combining sports and elegance.
For electric vehicles, the wind resistance coefficient is critical. In the case of the same battery capacity, every reduction of the wind resistance coefficient is a credit to the range. The cleverness of the Haibao lies in the application of streamlined shapes and low-lying posture design, which not only makes the exterior of the car look lively and beautiful, but also reduces the wind resistance coefficient to an amazing 0.219Cd., effectively reducing the energy consumption and wind noise of the vehicle. Speaking of low posture, it is worth mentioning the integrated CTB battery technology carried by the Haibao.
As a new battery packaging method, CTB battery-body integrated technology combines the battery with the body chassis, and the battery top cover is the bottom of the car, effectively improving space utilization. This not only brings more space for battery layout, but also brings a lower center of gravity for the vehicle, better vertical space performance and lower posture of the entire vehicle cabin, achieving multiple benefits.
In addition to the CTB battery-body integrated technology, the Seal also has the support of “Four Firsts” – iTAC intelligent torque control technology, rear-wheel / four-wheel-drive architecture, and front double-wishbone + rear five-link independent suspension, bringing significant advantages to the aesthetics, safety, handling and efficiency of the Seal.
The beauty of the Seal is not only in its appearance, but also in its ingenious interior space design, achieving true consistency between the interior and the exterior. The control part adopts an upper-deep and lower-shallow color scheme, forming a certain angle between the middle and both sides, with the overall shape reminiscent of the flowing waves in the ocean.
On the inside of the door panel, a large area of flocked leather material covers the area that we come into contact with the most while driving. Choosing this material can make the driver feel comfortable in both summer and winter, and the touch is soft. Overall, the Seal’s interior design, level of refinement, and material touch all leave people satisfied.
Of course, the iconic 15.6-inch rotating central control screen, with its clear display, delicate touch and very fast response speed, is essential to BYD. The open DiLink intelligent networking system provides rich applications and car machine resources, and supports intelligent voice control. A single “hello Xiao Di” can quickly awaken the car machine and control navigation, entertainment, air conditioning and other functions at will. The exclusive marine-themed UI design and HiFi-level custom Dynaudio sound system achieve an immersive sensory experience that integrates film, video and audio, and create an intelligent and comfortable in-car “third space” for users.
The Dolphin not only has a beautiful design, but every detail contains rich connotations. For example, the Dolphin’s front row is equipped with an integrated sports seat, which has good wrapping and comfort performance. During our 26-hour long-distance photoelectric test, this seat could also guarantee comfort. The whole series is equipped with a driving recorder, which eliminates the trouble of the owner installing a camera after buying the car, and maintains the cleanliness and beauty of the car. The main sales model, the 700km long endurance rear-drive version, also provides rear privacy glass, which brings a better user experience.
Balanced Strength for More Dominant Style
Electric cars also need interesting souls to meet the owner’s understanding of “motion” in different scenarios. This not only includes power and control, but also comprehensive strength including endurance, charging efficiency and safety. Therefore, for an electric car, the “motion” part needs to have comprehensive strength. Starting with the main sales 700km long endurance rear-drive model, the Dolphin is an all-round master who excels at everything, as the saying goes “we have no shortcoming in our strength” and the balanced strength shows more dominant style.
Firstly, on the power side, the Dolphin 700km long endurance rear-drive version is equipped with an eight-in-one electric power unit, with a maximum power of 230kW and a maximum torque of 360Nm. It takes only 5.9 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour. It not only meets the long endurance requirements but also gives you a strong acceleration feeling. The front double-wishbone + rear five-link independent suspension can adapt to more road conditions and meet the driving pleasure of the driver while taking care of the comfort of each passenger, balancing the relationship between sports and comfort very well. At the dynamic level, the Dolphin will satisfy every passenger, which is the embodiment of strength.
Most importantly, the Sea Lion adopts the CTB battery-body integration technology, which makes the battery not only an energy unit but also a structural component, providing stronger vehicle rigidity and a torsional stiffness of 40,500 Nm/°. In the media’s actual body rigidity challenge test, the Sea Lion outperforms some luxury brand models that cost millions of dollars and is on par with BBA flagship models such as Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series. The benefits of this technology during actual driving are that when making high-speed turns, the Sea Lion body is maximally restrained in its rolling motion, enabling the vehicle to pass smoothly, like flowing clouds and water, providing the driver with a wonderful experience.
Secondly, the Sea Lion 700km long-range rear-wheel drive version boasts an incomparable advantage in cruising range convenience compared to its peers. CLTC standard rates it at 700km, while the actual measured city road mixed electric mileage reaches 635km, achieving a success rate of over 90% and outperforming industry peers. At the same time, the Sea Lion also has faster charging efficiency. Adopting a high-voltage electric drive step-up charging solution, it can reach 500 volts at the national standard charging pile, and maintain 250 amps of current over a wide SOC range. Compared to most electric cars can only work at 400 volts at the national standard charging pile, the Sea Lion 700km long-range rear-wheel drive version with a maximum charging power of 150 kW can provide faster charging capability, thereby improving overall charging efficiency. Compared with the trendy 800V ultra-fast charging, which only works with specific charging piles, the Sea Lion can charge more flexibly without compromising charging efficiency.
In addition, the Sea Lion’s use of CTB battery-body integration technology also ensures overall vehicle safety. Compared to traditional battery packs that require a framework structure for protection, CTB battery packs participate in collision force transmission, with the front collision battery pack accounting for 20% and side collision battery pack accounting for 30%. Therefore, the safety of the car’s internal frame structure is improved by 50% during frontal impact and 46% during side impact, and the intrusion amount of the entire vehicle’s B-pillar during side impact is reduced by 45%.
If we further analyze, we will find that there are many things worthy of praise in the seal, such as the winter endurance performance that everyone is concerned about recently. The seal adopts a wide-temperature high-efficiency heat pump system, which can work in a wide temperature range of -30~60°C and improve the low-temperature endurance mileage by more than 20%. It is equipped with the first-in-industry battery pack refrigerant direct cooling and direct heating technology, which replaces traditional coolant and directly cools or heats the battery, reducing indirect heat exchange losses and increasing thermal efficiency by 15%. With temperature-controlled settings and more mature technology, the seal truly achieves low-temperature anti-freezing and is fearless in winter.
Summary:
As the mainstream and hot-selling models of BYD Han, how has the rear-wheel drive version with a 700km long endurance mileage stood out and gained the choice of many car owners? What is the driving experience like? Therefore, I actually talked to several BYD Han 700km long-range RWD owners. The owners first all stated that they bought it for the 700km long endurance mileage and are very satisfied with it. They have confidence in BYD’s three-electric system. The outstanding driving experience is a pleasant surprise for some car owners. “Since driving the Han, I only realized how well domestic cars are made,” said one owner who used to own a Japanese medium-sized car.
The market is the fairest testing machine. Whether a car has the strength or not, what anyone says does not matter. Only market performance is the only criterion for evaluation. As a born athlete, BYD Han not only has a young and dynamic coupe appearance but also provides thoughtful and caring humanized configurations, powerful power reserves, and excellent handling. These outstanding product strengths are the reasons why it has become a best-selling model in the market.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.