The direct competitor to the acclaimed MG4 should eventually spawn a hot hatch version and could come to Europe
April 25, 2024 at 10:32 am
- The BYD Ocean M hot hatch was unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show
- The hatchback design makes availability in Europe seem realistic
- The production car is coming this summer and will compete with the MG4 and the VW ID.3
BYD already has a lot of fingers in the game and with the introduction of the Ocean M hot hatch concept in China, its plans to keep another finger warm are confirmed.
The Ocean M is a preview of an electric hatchback that is scheduled to go into production in China in late summer this year. The car we’ll see then probably won’t look quite as wild as the concept from this week’s Beijing Auto Show, but if you strip out the giant splitter, huge rocker panel extensions, tall rear spoiler and GT3-style diffuser, it is you’re done. I’m looking at the Corolla-sized car that BYD will send into battle with vehicles like the MG4.
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And even without all the flashy aero modifications, the Ocean M will turn heads. The front end is reminiscent of the Lamborghini Aventador, as unlikely as that may sound, and the rising beltline and narrow rear window give the car a very dynamic look. The camera-based exterior mirrors may not make it into production, at least not on lower trim models, but the flush door handles keep the sides clean and modern.
The Ocean M will sit between the Dolphin and Seal in BYD’s lineup, and the company says it will be based on a new electrical architecture. Car news China claims that the production car will spawn a hot hatch model that is unique because it features rear-wheel drive.
If the power is only transferred to the rear wheels, as is the case with VW’s low-spec ID.3 but not the sporty twin-motor GTX, the Ocean M hot hatch might be fun to drive, but it would also suggest that , that BYD is aiming for fairly low performance levels. At the moment there is no word on how high this performance might be, nor does it reveal much about what lies beneath the skin.
BYD representatives said so Car news China that the production car will cost between 150,000 and 200,000 yen ($20,700 to $27,600). That sounds like a good value, although there’s no chance the Ocean will make it to the US any time soon. But the fact that it’s a hatchback suggests that BYD has plans to bring the Ocean to Europe, even if that hasn’t been explicitly said.
