New BYD Dolphin G is the UK’s smallest PHEV supermini and it comes with a massive 621-mile range

The BYD Dolphin G DM-i has arrived, and it’ll be the UK’s smallest plug-in hybrid (PHEV) supermini when it goes on sale here this autumn, with an expected starting price of under £20,000.

Aimed firmly at the likes of the mild and full-hybrid Toyota Yaris, the Renault Clio, and the Volkswagen Polo, the B-segment BYD Dolphin G is powered by BYD’s clever Super Hybrid plug-in system it uses in its Atto 2 DM-i compact SUV. DM-i stands for Dual Mode Intelligent.

The DM-i powertrain adopts a 1.5-litre petrol engine that serves as a generator for an electric motor that drives the front wheels. BYD says that the Dolphin G DM-i will return a huge combined petrol and electric range of 621 miles, with full technical details and specs to follow when the car is fully launched in June ahead of this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Perhaps most notably, however, is that the Dolphin G – a sibling to the Dolphin Surf EV – is the first car that BYD has developed in Europe for European buyers, adopting the same approach as Kia with its EV4.

BYD’s executive vice president, Stella Li, told journalists at the Financial Times’s recent ‘Future of the Car’ event in London, that the decision was taken as the Chinese automotive giant wants its customers in Europe to “think of BYD as a European brand”.

“The European B-segment is one of the most important parts of the market, and with the Dolphin G DM-i, we want to redefine what customers can expect from a compact car in the electric era.

“By bringing long electric range, intelligent hybrid technology and advanced digital features into an accessible compact vehicle, we are making sustainable mobility smarter, more practical and available to many more people across Europe.”

In line with its aim to manufacture cars tailored to European motorists’ wants and needs, the Dolphin G is likely to be built at BYD’s new factory in Szeged, Hungary.