BYD to launch UK's first plug-in hybrid supermini in 2026

BYD will bring PHEV power to the supermini class when it launches the UK's smallest and cheapest plug-in hybrid next year.

The latest addition to BYD's ranks is described as a B-segment hatchback and will effectively serve as a PHEV alternative to the Dolphin Surf EV, measuring around four metres long and roughly 1.5 metres tall. 

As such, it will be the smallest plug-in hybrid yet available in the UK, with other electrified options of this size – the Toyota Yaris, Renault Clio and MG 3 to name a few – using full hybrid systems which are typically more space- and cost-effective. 

Technical details are thin on the ground, with the unveiling still some months away, but the Dolphin G's powertrain is expected to be closely related to that in the new Atto 2 DM-i crossover, which is itself one of the market's smallest PHEVs. 

This PHEV version of the Atto 2 EV has a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor up front and can operate either as a series hybrid (with the engine working as a generator) or a parallel hybrid (with the two power units combining to give maximum shove).

In the Atto 2 DM-i, this system produces a combined 259bhp and is capable of a claimed 156mpg, with the larger of two available batteries giving it an electric-only range of 56 miles - but it is possible that the packaging restrictions of a smaller supermini means the Dolphin G uses a lower-capacity unit. 

BYD vice-president Stella Li stopped short of giving away any key details about the Dolphin G but did confirm that it would be the Chinese company's first car designed for the European market, rather an adapted Chinese-market model, as its existing nine models are.

"There is not any market in China" for PHEV hatchbacks such as the Dolphin G, she said.

BYD will start building cars for the European market at its new factory in Hungary next year, beginning with the Dolphin Surf and Atto 2, and it's possible that the Dolphin G could start following them down the line shortly after.

The Dolphin G is one of a wave of PHEVs being added to BYD's fast-growing European line-up, joining the Seal U DM-i, Seal 6 DM-i and Atto 2 DM-i, as well as the incoming Denza B5 4x4 and Denza Z9 GT.

The firm is just weeks away from launching the new Sealion 5 DM-i SUV in the UK, and a DM-i version of the Atto 3 (BYD's first UK-market car) will follow, likely in 2027.