Chinese giant takes on the Renault Clio with a made-for-Europe plug-in hybrid hatch
Perhaps no news story better reflects the surreal times we currently live in than recent reports Iran was planning to deploy a pod of kamikaze dolphins in the Strait of Hormuz. Yes, apparently the seemingly lovable aquatic mammals can be trained to act as game-changing offensive weapons. And you thought Flipper looked so innocent.Anyway, maybe they got the idea from the BYD Dolphin G. Because while this might look like a friendly new hatchback, it’s actually been conceived by the Chinese giant as a potent weapon with a clear porpoise, sorry, purpose: to sink rivals in the huge European small car segment. The new Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris rival is the first BYD developed specifically for Europe – and becomes the only B-segment family hatch on the market with a plug-in hybrid powertrains. And a target price of £23,000 to £25,000 could help torpedo some rivals.Expanding its PHEV technology into smaller segments is a new trend for BYD: it recently retrofitted the related Atto 2 crossover with its Super Hybrid-branded technology. BYD executive vice-president Stella Li insists that the firm can only do so thanks to its advanced PHEV technology that is packaged smaller than rivals, and on paper it makes a compelling package.
