The Atto 2 officially launched in Germany last week. Our German colleagues attended the premiere (you read their report here), and we already had a chance to test drive the EV ahead of the launch. Now, the 4.31-metre-long compact SUV can also be configured online in Germany. BYD already activated the configurator in other EU countries at the end of February.
Prices start at 31,990 euros for the Active equipment line, which is the announced list price. BYD is asking 34,990 euros for the Boost equipment line. The discounted promotional price of 29,990 euros or 32,990 euros, which BYD had announced at the start, is not currently available, at least not in the online configurator. The third equipment variant, Comfort, which BYD will launch in autumn and for which the carmaker promised a higher range and faster DC charging, is of course not yet configurable either.
The Atto 2 is currently the cheapest BYD in Europe, but probably not for long. As previously reported, BYD wants to focus on small electric cars in Europe. Now, there are further indications that the electric car known as the Seagull in China and as the Dolphin Mini in Mexico could launch in Europe this year. However, here, it will be called the Dolphin Surf. In terms of price, it should be between the Dacia Spring and models such as the Fiat Grande Panda or the Citroën ë-C3.
The Dacia Spring currently starts at €16,900 in Germany, the Citroën ë-C3 at €23,300, and the Fiat Grande Panda at just under €25,000. In other words, the BYD small car is likely to start at around €20,000. That is also the price range that VW is targeting for its ID.1 – or rather the production version of the ID. EVERY1 concept, the exact name has not yet been confirmed. However, if it launches before the end of this year, BYD would be significantly ahead of the German carmaker.
The Seagull’s Chinese prices could also fit into the price range of around 20,000 euros. The larger BYD Dolphin with a 60 kWh battery is sold in China starting at around 16,000 euros, while in Germany it costs around twice as much at 32,990 euros. The Seagull is sold there starting at around 9,000 euros. If you double that price for the Dolphin Surf, the range would be around 18,000 to 20,000 euros. And Stella Li, BYD’s vice president responsible for Europe, told Autocar that the Dolphin Surf will not be the cheapest model on the market, but it will offer the best value for money. The BYD management has also focused primarily on the price-performance ratio for the Atto 2.
byd.com (Atto 2 configurator), autocar.co.uk (Seagull/Dolphin Surf)
