BYD Dolphin EV Charging Cable

The rare car that loses nothing at home

Almost every page we write has to explain that a three phase rating shrinks on a British driveway. The 44.9 kWh Dolphin Active is the opposite case, and it is worth celebrating. Its charger is 7 kW and single phase by design, published as such with a single phase charge time of 438 minutes to full. Plug it into an ordinary 7 kW home charge point and the car takes the lot.

There is a mirror-image consequence that catches people out. Because the charger only uses one phase, a three phase 16 amp public charge point gives it 3.7 kW, not 11. At a workplace with three phase supply the Dolphin Active is slower than the cars parked beside it, while at home it is exactly as quick as they are. That is an unusual way round, and nobody mentions it.

Which Dolphin you have changes the specification

The Active and Boost carry 44.9 kWh for 211 and 193 miles respectively, with DC charging at 65 kW and a thirty to eighty per cent stop of 28 minutes. The Comfort and Design carry 60.4 kWh for 265 miles, are quoted at 11 kW three phase on AC, and take 88 kW on DC by BYD's own figure.

The Boost needs a caveat about its model year. BYD's launch material describes both Active and Boost as 7 kW AC cars, while the current UK page lists the Boost at 11 kW. That reads like a genuine hardware change partway through the run rather than a typo, so we would not state one figure for every Boost. It makes no difference to the cable: a 32A single phase lead covers 7 kW and 7.4 kW alike.

How long a full charge takes

Those times come from dividing the pack by the delivered power and adding 13 per cent for losses, then rounding to the quarter hour. The range column is deliberately cautious, at 3.5 miles per kWh. Columns are the 44.9 and 60.4 kWh packs. The third row is the quirk described above and applies only to the single phase car.

Eight hours on the smaller battery from empty is a full night on a cheap tariff with hours to spare. In daily use you are rarely putting back more than a third of the pack, which is a couple of hours.

Which length for a Dolphin

BYD puts the socket on the offside front wing here. If your charge point is at the head of the drive and you park nose first, the run is about as short as it gets.

At 4.29 metres the Dolphin is a small car with a forward socket, which is the best possible combination for cable length. Five metres works for a lot of owners. Ten metres is the choice if you reverse in, if the wall box is on the far side, or if the parking space is some way from the house. Take a tape measure to the run, inlet to charge point, and add a couple of metres before choosing.

How these cables are built

It is made to IEC 62196-2, CE marked, and sealed to IP55 across a -30C to +50C temperature range.

Three pin leads are made to IEC 62752, CE marked and IP67 sealed, with a -30C to +60C specification. Two year warranty from the manufacturer, free next day delivery in the UK, 30 day returns.

Also from BYD: BYD Atto 2 EV Charging Cable. The full range of BYD charging cables is on one page. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

BYD Dolphin charging cable questions

What cable does a BYD Dolphin need?

A 32A single phase Type 2 to Type 2 cable. That covers the 7 kW single phase cars and the 11 kW three phase ones equally, because both land at around 7 kW on a home supply.

Is the Dolphin slower than other cars at home?

No, and that is the point. The 44.9 kWh version is single phase by design, so it takes the full 7 kW a home charge point offers. It is at three phase public chargers that it falls behind, dropping to 3.7 kW.

How long does a Dolphin take to charge?

About eight hours for the 44.9 kWh car and eleven for the 60.4 kWh, from empty at 7 kW.

Does the Boost have the 7 kW or the 11 kW charger?

It depends on when yours was built. BYD described the Boost as a 7 kW car at launch and now lists it at 11 kW, which points to a change partway through production. The same cable suits either.